MSK-HQ Tool

The MSK-HQ is a short questionnaire for people who have problems with their muscles, joints, or bones, like arthritis or back pain. It helps people explain how they’ve been feeling, such as having aches, pains, or stiffness in their joints, back, neck, bones, or muscles over the last two weeks.

The MSK-HQ has 15 questions, and for each one, you choose an answer that shows how you’re feeling. Each answer is given a number between 0 and 4. To get your total score, all the numbers from your answers are added up, and the highest score you can get is 56. A higher score means you’re feeling better.

One of the questions is about physical activity, but it doesn’t count toward your score. It’s important to fill out the whole questionnaire so the doctor can fully understand how you’re doing.

Doctors usually use the MSK-HQ to check how well treatments are working by comparing your answers before and after treatment. It’s not as helpful when you fill it out only once because there’s no “normal” score to compare it to. If your score changes by 6 points or more, it usually means something important has changed in your health.

This questionnaire is used to help people with bone conditions like Fibrous Dysplasia, Achondroplasia, or XLH. Patients and doctors can both fill it out, and it’s often done once a year or more often, depending on what your doctor says.

You can read more about this tool here Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire (MSK-HQ)

If you don’t know what your results mean – please, contact your doctor for help.