Objective: Muscle tension plays a critical role in the development and persistence of chronic pain. Thus, awareness and management of tension are crucial for effective chronic pain management, highlighting the importance of measuring muscle tension. There is a need for a self-reported measure of muscle tension with established psychometric properties. Based on this need, this study aims to evaluate the validity of the Visual Analog Scale–Tension (VAS-T). This self-reported measure provides a practical approach to assessing muscle tension.
Method: This cross-sectional study included two groups: patients with chronic pain (N=100, age X̄ =45, ±9.4) and individuals without pain complaints (N=100, age X̄ =32, ±10). All participants completed a sociodemographic information form, the Visual Analog Scale for Tension (VAS-T), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-42), and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Additionally, patients with chronic pain completed the Visual Analog Scale for Pain (VAS-P) and algometer assessments. The study examined the discriminant, concurrent, and convergent validity of the VAS-T.
Results and Conclusion: Concerning discriminant validity, analyses revealed that individuals in the pain group exhibited significantly higher VAS-T scores compared to the control group. Moreover, our findings indicated a significant correlation between VAS-T scores, muscle tension algometer scores, and anxiety, stress, and alexithymia levels. Participants reporting low tension on the VAS-T differed significantly from those reporting high tension regarding these variables. These findings support the study's expectations. The findings prove that the self-reported VAS-T is a low-cost, rapid, and valid tool for assessing muscle tension.

Keywords: Algometer, chronic pain, muscle tension, pain management, pain intensity, visual analog scale.