Reliability of 4 pain measurements in assessment of delayed onset muscle soreness

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to find an appropriate pain scale to assess delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Seventeen healthy subjects (21.1 x 1.8 yr) performed 70 eccentric dorsiflexions in order to induce DOMS. Four pain scale VAS; Talag scale; Painmatcher; and our original scale assessments were conducted at 5 different times: pre-exercise, post-exercise, 24 hours post-exercise, 48 hours post-exercise, and 72 hours post-exercise. Simultaneously, we asked for 2 different subjective assessments, 1) subjective alteration, changes between current DOMS and previous DOMS perceived, and 2) subjective difference between right and left. For the reliability of the 4 pain scales, we calculated the kappa coefficient from the agreement between the alteration of results with each scale and the subjective assessments. The kappa coefficient of the Talag scale was higher than those of the other pain scales, indicating good to fair agreement. The results of this study suggest that the Talag scale is a more reliable pain scale for DOMS assessment.