Assessing pain and pain-related fear in acute low back pain: what is the smallest detectable change?

Background: The Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK) and the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ) are frequently used questionnaires for pain-related fear, and the visual analogue scale (VAS) is for pain.

Purpose: This study aims to determine the smallest detectable change (SDC) of these questionnaires in patients with acute low back pain (LBP), as well as ceiling and/or floor effects.

Results: The SDC for the TSK (scoring range: 17-68) was 9.