Table 1 Description of the questionnaires used at baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months follow-up

^aNumeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS)

Pain intensity

Numeric scale from 0–10. A change ≥ 2 on NPRS indicates meaningful change.

^aNeck Disability Index (NDI) (Vernon et al. 1991 [27])

Disability due to neck pain.10 items

Each item is scored from 0 – 5, higher score indicating worse function. Maximum score is 50. A change > 5 points or 10 % is clinically meaningful.

^aShoulder Pain and Disability Inventory (SPADI) (Williams et al. 1995 [28])

Pain (5-item) Disability (8-item) 13 items

Each item is scored on a numeric rating scale ranging from 0 to 10. Mean value from the combined scores is given in percent (0–100), higher scores indicating more pain and disability. A change ≥10 on SPADI indicates clinical important change.

^aÖrebro Musculoskeletal Pain Questionnaire -short form (ÖMPQ-SF) (Linton et al. 2011 [26])

Risk for future work disability 10 items

Numeric scale from 0–10, from ‘no pain’ to ‘pain as bad as it could be’ or ‘completely disagree’ to ‘completely agree’. Three items are reversed. The items are being summarized. The total score ranges from 1 to 100 where higher scores indicate higher estimated risk for future work disability.

Norwegian Function Assessment Scale (NFAS) (Brage et al. 2004 [31]; Osteras et al. 2007 [32])

39 items in seven domains: walking/standing, holding/picking up something, lifting/carrying, sitting, coping/managing, cooperation/communication, and senses.

Scored on a 4 point Likert scale, ranging from ‘no difficulty’ to ‘could not do it’, and an average score is calculated.

Subjective Health Complaints inventory (SHC)

Experienced somatic or psychological complaints 29 items

Scored on a 4 point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (no complaints) to 3 (severe complaints). Sumscores are calculated, ranging from 0–87.

Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL-25) (Derogatis et al. 1974 [34])

Anxiety symptoms (10 items) and Depression symptoms (15 items) 25 items

Scores range from 1 to 4, with 4 indicating severe symptoms. Mean score is reported to 1.23 (95 % CI 1.19–1.30) in a normal population, and cut-off is 1.67 for men and 1.75 for women.

Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) (Kori et al. 1990 [35])

Concerning fear of movement/re-injury 13 items

Scored on a 4 point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (‘strongly disagree’) to 4 (‘strongly agree’). The total score range from 13 to 52. Higher scores indicate higher kinesiophobia

Short Form-12 (SF-12)

Physical and mental health-related quality of life 12-items

Scores ranging from 0 to100. Higher scores reflect better perceived health, with 50 as mean (SD 10) scores for mental and physical dimensions for a healthy population.

Bergen Insomnia Scale (BIS) (Pallesen et al. 2008 [41])

Sleep disturbance 6 items

0–7 days each week. Scored on a 7-point scale; higher scores indicate more severe sleep problems. The total score has a continuous scale (max 42) and normative data has a mean of 10.67 (SD 9.73).