What is the Bournemouth used for?

The Bournemouth Questionnaire is used to measure and monitor the biopsychosocial impact of back or neck pain. Clinicians administer it at baseline and follow-up to track how pain, function, and psychological factors change over a course of care, supporting outcome measurement and clinical decision-making.

How many items does the BQ have and how is it scored?

The BQ has seven items, each rated on a 0 to 10 numeric scale where higher numbers indicate a greater problem. Summing the seven items gives a total from 0 to 70. A lower total, or a falling total over time, reflects less overall impact and improvement.

What does the Bournemouth Questionnaire measure?

It measures seven dimensions of a pain condition: pain intensity, function in daily activities, function in social activities, anxiety, depression, fear-avoidance behavior, and locus of control. Together these domains capture the physical, emotional, and cognitive burden of back or neck pain in a single short form.

Is there a Bournemouth cutoff or severity band?

No. The BQ is built to track change rather than assign severity labels, so it has no mild, moderate, or severe bands. Research instead reports change thresholds, such as roughly a 13-point drop or a percentage change around 36 to 47 percent, as markers of clinically important improvement.

What is the difference between the back and neck versions?

There are two parallel versions of the BQ, one for low back pain and one for neck pain. They share the same seven-domain structure and 0 to 70 scoring, differing only in the body region referenced. Clinicians choose the version that matches the patient's complaint.

How often should the BQ be administered?

Administer the BQ at the initial visit to set a baseline, then repeat at consistent intervals during care and at discharge. Using a regular schedule keeps score changes comparable, so improvement or lack of progress reflects the patient's status rather than differences in timing.

Bournemouth Questionnaire | Template & auto-scoring

The Bournemouth Questionnaire (BQ) is a short, seven-item outcome measure that captures the biopsychosocial impact of back or neck pain. Grounded in the biopsychosocial model, it rates pain intensity, daily and social function, anxiety, depression, fear-avoidance, and pain-related control on a single sheet, giving clinicians a fast, multidimensional snapshot of how a patient is doing.

Why healthcare providers use the BQ

Multidimensional in one form. It covers pain, function, and psychological factors together, so providers see the full picture without stacking several separate questionnaires.
Fast to complete. Seven items take about five minutes, which supports routine use at intake and follow-up without adding much burden.
Tracks change over time. Repeated scoring lets you compare a patient against their own baseline and gauge whether care is helping.
Flags psychosocial barriers. Anxiety, depression, and fear-avoidance items help surface factors that can slow recovery and guide clinical decision-making.

Which settings use the BQ?

Chiropractic clinics. Widely used to monitor patients with persistent low back or neck pain across a course of care.
Physical therapy and rehab. Therapists use it to track functional and psychosocial recovery alongside physical progress.
Musculoskeletal and pain clinics. A brief biopsychosocial measure fits multidisciplinary spine and pain programs.
Research and outcomes studies. Its validated psychometrics make it a common tool for measuring treatment outcomes.

What does the BQ measure?

The BQ measures the impact of back or neck pain across seven dimensions drawn from the biopsychosocial model. Separate back and neck versions share the same structure and scoring. Each item is rated on a numeric scale, and the seven domains together describe both the physical and psychological burden of the condition.

Pain and function. Pain intensity, function in daily activities, and function in social or recreational activities.
Affective factors. Anxiety and depression levels associated with the pain condition.
Cognitive and behavioral factors. Fear-avoidance behavior and locus of control over the pain.

Scoring the BQ

Number of items: 7.
Per-item scale: 0 to 10 numeric rating scale, where higher numbers indicate a greater problem.
Total score range: 0 to 70, calculated by summing the seven items.
Score direction: higher total scores reflect greater overall impact, and a falling score over time reflects improvement.

The BQ is designed to monitor change rather than to assign a diagnosis or a fixed severity band, so there are no published cutoffs that label a single score as mild, moderate, or severe. Interpretation should always consider the individual patient and the full clinical context, and the total score guides clinical decision-making rather than replacing it.

Responsiveness research focuses on change scores between visits. Reported thresholds for clinically important improvement include roughly a 13-point drop on the total score, and percentage change values in the range of about 36 percent to 47 percent for low back pain, depending on the study and subgroup. Because these figures vary across sources, treat them as guides and consider further assessment when scores fail to improve as expected.

Best practices for administration

Establish a baseline. Administer the BQ at the first visit so later scores have a reference point for change.
Match the version to the region. Use the neck version for cervical complaints and the back version for low back complaints.
Re-administer on a schedule. Repeat at consistent intervals so change over time reflects progress, not timing differences.
Let patients self-report. Have patients complete every item themselves to keep responses consistent and comparable.
Review all seven domains. Look at individual items, not just the total, since a high psychosocial item can be meaningful on its own.

How Zentake helps with the BQ

Automatic scoring. Zentake totals the seven items on submit, so staff skip hand-tallying and avoid arithmetic errors.
Longitudinal tracking. Re-send the BQ on a schedule and view how a patient's score changes across a course of care.
Before the visit. Chiropractic practices can have patients complete the BQ from home on any device, so scores are ready before the appointment.
HIPAA compliant. Responses are encrypted, with a signed BAA available on every plan.

References

Bolton JE, Breen AC. The Bournemouth Questionnaire: a short-form comprehensive outcome measure. I. Psychometric properties in back pain patients. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1999.

For responsiveness and change thresholds, see Newell D, et al. Responsiveness of the Bournemouth Questionnaire in determining minimal clinically important change in subgroups of low back pain patients (2010). Additional overview available via Physiopedia.

Last updated: August 2026

Bournemouth Questionnaire