About the score
Originally published in 1996 in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) was a collaborative initiative between the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Council of Musculoskeletal Specialty Societies, and the Institute for Work and Health. This outcome measure was designed to be a standardized assessment of the impact on function of a variety of musculoskeletal disease and injuries in the upper extremity.
The DASH is a 30-item self-reported questionnaire in which the response options are presented as 5-point Likert scales. Scores range from 0 (no disability) to 100 (most severe disability). This score was designed be useful in patients with any musculoskeletal disorder of the upper limb.
YOU CAN USE THIS FORM BELOW TO ASSESS YOUR PATIENT AND PRINT IT OUT OR SAVE AS PDF FILE.
Reference
Original Literature:
- Hudak, Pamela L., et al. “Development of an upper extremity outcome measure: the DASH (Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand).” American journal of industrial medicine29.6 (1996): 602-608.
Validation Literature:
- Beaton, D. E., et al. “Measuring the whole or the parts? Validity, reliability, and responsiveness of the DASH outcome measure in different regions of the upper extremity.” J Hand Ther 14.2 (2001): 128-46.
Additional Literature:
- Angst, Felix, et al. “Measures of adult shoulder function: Disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand questionnaire (DASH) and its short version (QuickDASH), shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI), American shoulder and elbow surgeons (ASES) society standardized shoulder assessment form, constant (Murley) score (CS), simple shoulder test (SST), oxford shoulder score (OSS), shoulder disability questionnaire (SDQ), and Western Ontario shoulder instability index (WOSI).” Arthritis care & research 63.S11 (2011).
About the score developer
Dr. Claire Bombardier is the Director of the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Toronto, the Director of Clinical Decision Making and Health Care Division at Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, and is a senior scientist at the Institute for Work and Health.