Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the simplified Chinese version of the Exercise-Induced Leg Pain Questionnaire (EILP)

Abstract

Purpose This study cross-culturally adapted and psychometrically validated a simplified Chinese version of the Exercise-Induced Leg Pain Questionnaire (SC-EILP) for evaluating the severity of symptoms and sports ability among individuals with exercise-induced leg pain. Materials and methods One hundred and fourteen participants with exercise-induced leg pain were included. To assess reliability, we calculated Cronbach’s α and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Construct validity was analysed by assessing the correlations between SC-EILP and visual analogue scale (VAS), University of California Los Angeles activity score (UCLA), and short form (36) health survey (SF-36). Factorial validity was used to establish the factor structure of the questionnaire. Results The EILP was cross-culturally well-adapted and translated into simplified Chinese. Each item was appropriately correlated with the total items. SC-EILP had nearly good reliability [Cronbach’s α = 0.798, ICC = 0.897, 95% confidence interval 0.851–0.929]. The elimination of any one item in all did not result in a value of Cronbach’s α of <0.80. SC-EILP had a very good correlation with VAS (−0.607, p < 0.01) and a moderate correlation with UCLA (0.581, p < 0.01) and physical domains of SF-36 (0.499–0.528, p < 0.01). Exploratory factor analysis revealed the 3-factor loading explained 74.736% of the total variance [Kaiser–Mayer–Olkin (KMO) = 0.672, C 2 = 665.34, p < 0.001]. Conclusions SC-EILP showed excellent acceptability, internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity, and could be recommended for individuals in Mainland China.