Key facts
- Score direction
- Higher is better
- Meaningful change
- No minimal important change (MIC/MCID) or smallest detectable change has yet been published specifically for this instability-specific wording - the 2021 validation study reported only correlation with the Rowe score, not responsiveness thresholds. Treat any MCID figures quoted for generic shoulder SANE, or for SANE after stabilisation surgery more broadly, as indicative rather than established for this exact question.
- Scoring
- Patients provide a single percentage (0 to 100) in answer to "What is the overall percent value of your shoulder if a completely stable shoulder represents 100%?". The score is the value given - no calculation is applied…
About the SANE for Instability - Shoulder
The classic SANE question asks patients to rate their shoulder as a percentage of "normal", which Ladermann et al. (2021) judged too general for shoulder instability - patients can feel their shoulder is otherwise normal yet still fear it slipping out of joint. They re-worded the 100% anchor to "a completely stable shoulder" and validated the single-item result against the Rowe score (r=0.85) in 253 patients with anterior or posterior instability, treated surgically (Latarjet, arthroscopic Bankart repair) or non-surgically.
Medical Specialties
Anatomic Areas
Clinical Indications
Developer Information
Adapted from the original SANE (Williams et al. 1999) by Alexandre Ladermann, Patrick J. Denard, Philippe Collin, Mohamed Ibrahim, Hugo Bothorel and Joe Chih-Hao Chiu, to specify shoulder stability rather than general shoulder normality.
Origin
Built on Patient Watch - an open-source community form. It is not validated or endorsed by any copyright holder.
Administration Instructions
Rate your shoulder as a percentage, where 100% represents a completely stable shoulder.
Scoring Methodology
Patients provide a single percentage (0 to 100) in answer to "What is the overall percent value of your shoulder if a completely stable shoulder represents 100%?". The score is the value given - no calculation is applied. Only the 100% anchor is defined in the source publication; the 0% end of the scale is not separately worded.
Meaningful Change Threshold
No minimal important change (MIC/MCID) or smallest detectable change has yet been published specifically for this instability-specific wording - the 2021 validation study reported only correlation with the Rowe score, not responsiveness thresholds. Treat any MCID figures quoted for generic shoulder SANE, or for SANE after stabilisation surgery more broadly, as indicative rather than established for this exact question.
Clinical Limitations & Considerations
This wording has so far been reported in a single validation-of-concept study (n=253) correlating it with the Rowe score; it has not been independently re-validated, and no MCID or smallest detectable change has been established for it. As a single-item measure it does not separate pain, function, apprehension and psychological domains the way multi-item instability measures (e.g. the Oxford Shoulder Instability Score, WOSI) do.
Supporting Literature
Key validation and development studies for the SANE for Instability - Shoulder
- 1
Comparison of the Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation method and two shoulder rating scales. Outcomes measures after shoulder surgery
Williams GN, Gangel TJ, Arciero RA, Uhorchak JM, Taylor DC
The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1999
- 2
Comparison of the Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation method and two shoulder rating scales. Outcomes measures after shoulder surgery
Williams GN, Gangel TJ, Arciero RA, Uhorchak JM, Taylor DC
The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1999
- 3
Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation for instability as an alternative to the Rowe score
Ladermann A, Denard PJ, Collin P, Ibrahim M, Bothorel H, Chiu JC-H
Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, 2021
Used in Literature
Studies and publications that have used the SANE for Instability - Shoulder
- 1
Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation for instability as an alternative to the Rowe score
Ladermann A, Denard PJ, Collin P, Ibrahim M, Bothorel H, Chiu JC-H
Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, 2021
Related Outcome Measures
Other clinical questionnaires for similar specialties and conditions
Oxford Shoulder Instability Score
A 12-item patient-reported outcome measure evaluating pain, function and the psychological impact of shoulder instability (recurrent dislocation or subluxation), for use before and after surgical or non-surgical treatment.
SANE (Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation) - Shoulder
A single patient-reported outcome question asking patients to rate their shoulder as a percentage of normal (0-100%), where 100% represents a completely normal shoulder.
Oxford Shoulder Score
A concise questionnaire evaluating shoulder-related pain and functional ability in patients undergoing shoulder surgery (excluding stabilisation).
QuickDASH
The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) Outcome Measure
Patient Watch lets people build smart forms that calculate scores and show charts. This form is community-built - not validated or endorsed by any copyright holder. View full licensing disclosure