Abstract
BackgroundAchilles tendinopathy is considered to be one of the most common overuse injuries in elite and recreational athletes and the recommended treatment varies. One factor that has been stressed in the literature is the lack of standardized outcome measures that can be used in all countries. One such standardized outcome measure is the Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment – Achilles (VISA-A) questionnaire, which is designed to evaluate the clinical severity for patients with Achilles tendinopathy. The purpose of this study was to cross-culturally adapt the VISA-A questionnaire to Swedish, and to perform reliability, validity and structure evaluations.MethodsCross-cultural adaptation was performed in several steps including translations, synthesis of translations, back translations, expert committee review and pre-testing. The final Swedish version, the VISA-A Swedish version (VISA-A-S) was tested for reliability on healthy individuals (n = 15), and patients (n = 22). Tests for internal consistency, validity and structure were performed on 51 patients.ResultsThe VISA-A-S had good reliability for patients (r = 0.89, ICC = 0.89) and healthy individuals (r = 0.89–0.99, ICC = 0.88–0.99). The internal consistency was 0.77 (Cronbach's alpha). The mean [95% confidence interval] VISA-A-S score in the 51 patients (50 [44–56]) was significantly lower than in the healthy individuals (96 [94–99]). The VISA-A-S score correlated significantly (Spearman's r = -0.68) with another tendon grading system. Criterion validity was considered good when comparing the scores of the Swedish version with the English version in both healthy individuals and patients. The factor analysis gave the factors pain/symptoms and physical activityConclusionThe VISA-A-S questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument and comparable to the original version. It measures two factors: pain/symptoms and physical activity, and can be used in both research and the clinical setting.
Highlights
Achilles tendinopathy is considered to be one of the most common overuse injuries in elite and recreational athletes and the recommended treatment varies
Achilles tendinopathy is a common overuse injury, especially among athletes involved in activities that include running and jumping [1,2,3,4]
The three translations were synthesized into one Swedish version by a panel of experts consisting of four physical therapists who specialize in musculoskeletal disorders
Summary
Achilles tendinopathy is considered to be one of the most common overuse injuries in elite and recreational athletes and the recommended treatment varies. One factor that has been stressed in the literature is the lack of standardized outcome measures that can be used in all countries One such standardized outcome measure is the Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment – Achilles (VISA-A) questionnaire, which is designed to evaluate the clinical severity for patients with Achilles tendinopathy. Achilles tendinopathy is a common overuse injury, especially among athletes involved in activities that include running and jumping [1,2,3,4]. Achilles tendinopathy causes many patients to significantly decrease their physical activity level, with a potentially negative impact on their overall health and general well-being [2,3,7]
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