Kinesiophobia and Its Association With Health-Related Quality of Life Across Injury Locations

Abstract

ObjectiveTo compare baseline kinesiophobia levels and their association with health-related quality of life across injury locations. DesignRetrospective cross-sectional study. SettingSingle, large outpatient physical therapy clinic within an academic medical center. ParticipantsPatients (N=1233) who underwent an initial evaluation for a diagnosis related to musculoskeletal pain and completed the 11-item version of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK-11) and the Medical Outcomes Study 8-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-8) questionnaires within 7 days of their first visit were eligible for inclusion. Three hundred eighty patients were excluded because of missing data or because they were younger than 18 years. A total of 853 patients (mean age, 43.55y; range, 18–94y) were included. InterventionsNot applicable. Main Outcome MeasuresComparison of baseline kinesiophobia levels and their association with health-related quality of life across injury locations in an outpatient physical therapy setting. ResultsSeparate analysis of variance models compared TSK-11 scores based on involved body region, and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine the association between TSK-11 scores and the SF-8 subscales at each body region. TSK-11 scores did not differ by body region (range, 23.9–26.1). Weak to moderate negative correlations existed between kinesiophobia and the SF-8 subscales. ConclusionsKinesiophobia levels appear elevated and negatively associated with health-related quality of life at initial physical therapy evaluation regardless of injury location. These findings suggest that physical therapists in outpatient orthopedic settings should implement routine kinesiophobia assessment and provide stratified care based on kinesiophobia levels across musculoskeletal conditions.