Cornell University Ergonomics Web

Cornell Muscuoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaires (CMDQ)

The following Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaires (CMDQ) have been developed by Dr. Alan Hedge and ergonomics graduate students at Cornell University. The questionnaires are based on previous published research studies of musculoskeletal discomfort among office workers. Scoring of the questionnaires should be self-evident to anyone familiar with this type of research. If you need further assistance please contact Alan Hedge at ah29@cornell.edu.

The following questionnaire files contain graphics and therefore have been organized as downloadable '.pdf' files, and these can be viewed and printed with Adobe Acrobat.

If you use any of these questionnaires in your research we ask that you acknowledge the Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory at Cornell University as the source of the instruments.

Sedentary workers

• Click here to download the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (sedentary worker, male version)
  
• Click here to download the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (sedentary worker, female version)

Standing Workers

• Click here to download the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (standing worker, male version)
  
• Click here to download the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (standing worker, female version)

Hand Symptoms

• Click here to download the Cornell Hand Discomfort Questionnaire (right hand).
  
• Click here to download the Cornell Hand Discomfort Questionnaire (left hand)
  

Scoring Guidelines - Cornell Musculoskeletal and Hand Discomfort Questionnaires

These questionnaires are for research screening purposes and not for diagnostic purposes. Scores can be analyzed in 4 ways:

1. by simply counting the number of symptoms per person
2. by summing the rating values for each person
3. by weighting the rating scores to more easily identify the most serious problems as follows:
   Never = 0
   1-2 times/week = 1.5
   3-4 times/week = 3.5
   Every day = 5
   Several times every day = 10
4. by multiplying the above Frequency score (0,1.5 , 3.5, 5, 10) by the Discomfort score (1,2,3) by the Interference score (1,2,3)

In the computational analyses missing values can be coded as 0. If the missing value is for the frequency score then use this as a zero in multiplying, i.e. all combinations of Frequency, Discomfort and Interference become 0. However, if the missing value is in the Discomfort or Frequency score then treat it as missing so that the multiplied score will be at least the value of the Frequency score.

The individual items should also be analyzed to determine where there may be a postural problem for the person.

Validity and Reliability

The survey is derived from previous postural discomfort surveys and has high face validity. The survey is a screening tool and not a diagnostic instrument. If you are using it in a research study in any other way you should undertake your own test-retest reliability study. Given the nature of musculoskeletal discomfort (i.e. mostly intermittently experienced) differences in responses can be expected over longer test-retest intervals. The diagnostic validity of this survey can be tested in any study be comparing survey responses with clinical reports. The validity of the CMDQ has not been formally tested in the US but it has been extensively tested by Dr. Oguzhan Erdinc in Turkey with good results (see validity testing and evaluation report).

Publication

This survey questionnaire was developed and used in the following research study:

Hedge, A., Morimoto, S. And McCrobie, D. (1999) Effects of keyboard tray geometry on upper body posture and comfort, Ergonomics, 42 (10), 1333-1349.