Key facts
- Score direction
- Higher is better
- Meaningful change
- No universal minimal clinically important difference is established across all knee populations. In adults treated for anterior cruciate ligament tears, the reported minimum detectable change is 1 point. Interpret change against the patient's pre-injury level, age, occupation and goals.
- Scoring
- Select one activity level from 0 to 10. The selected ordinal value is the Tegner score. Level 0 represents sick leave or disability because of knee problems and level 10 represents national or international elite competi…
- Time to complete
- 1 min
- Questions
- 1
- Licensing
- Licensed instrument - check copyright terms before clinical use
About the Tegner Activity Scale
The Tegner Activity Scale complements symptom and function measures by describing the demand level of a person's work and sporting activity. It is commonly used before and after treatment for anterior cruciate ligament and other knee injuries. The scale is ordinal, so a higher score indicates a higher activity level rather than better knee symptoms by itself.
Medical Specialties
Anatomic Areas
Clinical Indications
Developer Information
Developed by Yelverton Tegner and Jack Lysholm and published in 1985 as an activity grading scale to complement the Lysholm Knee Score.
Copyright & Licensing
Authoritative commercial reuse rights were not identified. The LOINC terminology and answer list have separate licence terms. Obtain written permission or rights confirmation before production publication, commercial electronic administration, translation or wording changes, and cite Tegner and Lysholm (1985).
Administration Instructions
Select the one level that best describes your current work and sports activity. If several descriptions apply, select the highest level that you currently perform.
Scoring Methodology
Select one activity level from 0 to 10. The selected ordinal value is the Tegner score. Level 0 represents sick leave or disability because of knee problems and level 10 represents national or international elite competitive sport. Higher scores indicate greater activity demand. Current and pre-injury scores may be collected at separate time points, but they must not be combined into one score.
Meaningful Change Threshold
No universal minimal clinically important difference is established across all knee populations. In adults treated for anterior cruciate ligament tears, the reported minimum detectable change is 1 point. Interpret change against the patient's pre-injury level, age, occupation and goals.
Score Interpretation
Understanding what your score means
activity level
0 - 10Higher values represent higher-demand work or sport. The scale is ordinal and has no validated severity bands or universal healthy cut-off.
Subscales
This questionnaire measures multiple dimensions
Clinical Limitations & Considerations
This is a broad ordinal activity classification, not a direct measure of symptoms, participation quality or physical capacity. Scores are influenced by age, occupation, sport choice and opportunity. Current and pre-injury ratings must be clearly distinguished, and the scale should be interpreted alongside a knee-specific outcome measure.
Supporting Literature
Key validation and development studies for the Tegner Activity Scale
- 1
Rating systems in the evaluation of knee ligament injuries
Tegner Y, Lysholm J
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 1985
- 2
The reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the Lysholm score and Tegner activity scale for anterior cruciate ligament injuries of the knee
Briggs KK, Lysholm J, Tegner Y, Rodkey WG, Kocher MS, Steadman JR
The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2009
Frequently asked questions
What does a activity level Tegner Activity Scale score mean?
A Tegner Activity Scale score of 0 to 10 is classified as activity level. Higher values represent higher-demand work or sport. The scale is ordinal and has no validated severity bands or universal healthy cut-off.
Related Outcome Measures
Other clinical questionnaires for similar specialties and conditions
Marx Activity Rating Scale (MARS)
A four-item scale measuring how frequently a person performs running, cutting, decelerating and pivoting activities that demand high-level knee function.
ACL Return to Sport after Injury Scale (ACL-RSI)
A 12-item patient-reported scale assessing emotions, confidence and risk appraisal when returning to sport after anterior cruciate ligament injury or reconstruction.
IKDC Subjective Knee Evaluation
The knee-specific subjective component of the International Knee Documentation Committee form set. It measures symptoms, sport-related difficulty and overall knee function as a single normalised score.
VISA-P inverse
An index of the severity of patellar tendinopathy with conventional pain-scale direction for questions 1 to 6
Kujala Anterior Knee Pain Scale
A 13-item self-report questionnaire that assesses subjective symptoms and functional limitations related to anterior knee pain syndrome, scored from 0 to 100.
Oxford Knee Score
Oxford Knee Score - a 12-item patient-reported outcome measure for assessing function and pain after total knee replacement surgery
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