Lower extremity-specific measures of disability and outcomes in orthopaedic surgery

Abstract

▶ Outcome measures may be simple questions or complex measures that assess multiple interrelated domains affecting treatment outcomes. ▶ Outcome measures should be relevant to patients, easy to use, reliable, valid, and responsive to clinical changes. ▶ Joint and disease-specific outcome measures have been developed for the hip, knee, and foot and ankle. Many of these measures would benefit from further research into their validity, reliability, and optimal applicability. ▶ General health measures and activity level scores should be included in outcome assessments after treatment for orthopaedic conditions. Copyright © 2012 by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Incorporated.