Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire
What It Measures
The Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire asks what a person's back is stopping them doing today. Not how much it hurts — what has changed because of it.
Twenty-four statements are presented and the person ticks any that describe them, leaving the rest blank. They cover physical activity, walking, dressing, sleep, appetite, mood, household tasks, and social life, each phrased to end "because of my back" — "I stay at home most of the time because of my back," "I sleep less well because of my back." The score is simply the number of statements ticked, from 0 for no disability to 24 for maximal disability. It takes about five minutes and needs no assistance.
Further Reading
Additional Notes
Licensing Notes: The RMDQ is in the public domain. The original questionnaire and all translations are freely available at rmdq.org, and permission is not required for use or reproduction. Developed by Martin Roland and Richard Morris, published in Spine (1983).
Learn More: The change threshold depends on where the person started. A change of 5 points is the commonly recommended minimal clinically important difference, but for a baseline score under 7, a 30% change is the better threshold — because 5 points from a starting score of 6 is a very different thing from 5 points from a starting score of 20.