OBJECTIVES: The STarT musculoskeletal (MSK) tool was developed to aid risk-stratification for future disability among patients with musculoskeletal (MSK) pain, but it still has limited validation. This study investigated the convergent and known group validity of the STarT MSK tool among patients with neck pain.

METHODS: Fifty-five consenting patients with neck pain attending the outpatient physiotherapy and orthopedic clinics at a Nigerian tertiary institution participated in this study. Validity of the STarT MSK tool was tested with pain catastrophising, long-term disability, and kinesiophobia using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Questionnaire (Short) (OMPQS), and Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK), respectively. Socio-demographic information were also obtained. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics at p < 0.05 alpha level.

RESULTS: The respondents in this study had the mean age of 45.7 ± 14.7 years. Rates for low, medium and high risks for future disability were 38.2%, 41.8% and 20% respectively. There was no significant association between STarT MSK tool risk-stratification and OMPQS’ (X2 = 6.40; p = 0.170). STarT MSK tool showed significant convergent validity rumination subscale of the PCS (p = 0.030) and the OMPQS (p = 0.02). There was no known-group validity for STarT MSK tool based on age (p = 0.26) and gender (p = 0.20).

CONCLUSIONS: The STarT MSK tool had fair to good validity with tools assessing psychosocial consequences of chronic pain and long-term disability among patients with neck pain but was not influenced by variations in socio-demographic parameters. The STarT MSK tool could therefore be used for diagnostic purposes by clinicians in the field.