1 Before you use it
What it is
Thirty items covering the whole upper limb as a single functional unit — shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand together, on the principle that patients use one arm, not one joint.
Optional work and sport/performing-arts modules add four items each.
When to reach for it
Multi-region upper limb problems, work-related presentations, and anywhere the optional work or sport modules earn their place.
For a single joint, use the region-specific instrument. For speed, use QuickDASH.
Patterns it serves · 23
2 Giving it
Scoring
Thirty items, 1–5 each, transformed to 0–100. Lower is better. At least 27 of 30 must be completed or the score is invalid.
What it doesn’t measure
Localise anything, or capture instability and throwing demand.
Repeat it
3 Reading the score
Interpreting it
Interpret against baseline.
Its region-agnostic design is both the strength and the limitation: it lets you compare a wrist to a shoulder, and it is less responsive than a region-specific measure for either.
Is the change real?
On placement
Lateral elbow tendinopathy, 6 weeks of loading. DASH 42 at intake, 31 today.
Read it as 11 points down, just short of the verified MCID of 12–14 points (measured in upper limb disorders). Close, and the direction is right, but the honest sentence is 'not yet a change we can call meaningful'. DASH is region-agnostic, so it is also less responsive to an elbow than the PRTEE would be.
Do keep the programme, add the PRTEE as the region-specific measure, and re-score both at 12 weeks.
Student trap. Scoring it with more than three items missing. Under 27 completed and the score is not valid — bin it and use QuickDASH.
Official source: dash.iwh.on.ca. We don't host the form.
This is a learning tool. It does not diagnose patients and does not replace your clinical educator.
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