SUMMARY
Background. Assessment of the functional disability of patients with LBP is essential in both research and clinical care and can guide treatments and decisions about return to sports activity. Several questionnaires have been developed to measure functional status and levels of disability in patients with LBP, but none of them can provide an effective assessment of disability in athletes regarding their sports and exercise activities.
Based on a qualitative study, in 2017 Zamani et al. have proposed a new questionnaire entitled “Athletes Disability Index” (ADI) for the evaluation of LBP functional disability of athletes. The measurement properties (construct validity and reliability) have been tested according to COSMIN checklists. The aim of the present study is to translate, culturally adapt and validate the ADI in Italian; verify its validity, reliability and make it usable by various healthcare professionals, especially in the sports field.
Materials and methods. The original English version underwent a translation process based on international guidelines. The internal consistency of the ADI scale was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, while the reliability was assessed by calculating the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). The construct validity of the questionnaire was assessed using the Pearson Correlation Coefficient to determine the association between the ADI scale and the Italian version of the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), by Roland and Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).
Results. Cronbach’s (α) was 0.897 and ICC was 0.960. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient showed statistically significant correlations between the ADI and the ODI, the RMDQ and the VAS, with a p < 0.01.
Conclusions. The study produced statistically significant results, demonstrating that the Italian version of the ADI is a valid and reliable tool for assessing the level of disability in sports patients suffering from Low Back Pain. An intercultural validity and reliability study is also recommended in other languages.
KEY WORDS
Low back pain; sport; PROMs; rehabilitation; sport physiotherapy.