Translation, Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Italian Version of Functional Rating Index in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain

Overview

Chronic Low Back Pain (cLBP) is a global health issue lasting more than 3 months, where a clear pathologic and anatomic cause of pain is not recognized. Various personal and psychosocial factors can influence the onset and chronicity of low back pain. The Functional Rating Index (FRI) is a self-administered questionnaire composed by 10 items, scored from 0 (better condition) to 4 (worst condition), that evaluate pain, sleep, work and daily activity. The FRI's final score ranges from 0% to 100% (no disability to severe disability). The aim of the study is to translate, culturally adapt and validate the FRI in Italian (I-FRI).

Chronic Low Back Pain (cLBP) is a global health issue lasting more than 3 months, where a clear pathologic and anatomic cause of pain is not recognized. Various personal and psychosocial factors can influence the onset and chronicity of low back pain. An outcome measure, in a specific context, refers to a quantifiable or observable variable used to assess and evaluate the results or effects of a particular intervention, treatment, program, or research study. The choice of appropriate outcome measures is critical in research and evaluation because it directly influences the validity and reliability of the results. There are already other validated scales translated in Italian for the evaluation of patients with cLBP, such as the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI-I). The Functional Rating Index (FRI) is a self-administered questionnaire composed by 10 items, scored from 0 (better condition) to 4 (worst condition), that evaluate pain, sleep, work and daily activity. The FRI's final score ranges from 0% to 100% (no disability to severe disability). The aim of the study is to translate, culturally adapt and validate the FRI in Italian (I-FRI). 104 patients were recruited for this study following inclusion/exclusion criteria. After signing the informed consent, each participant completed I-FRI, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) and Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). All the patients have done the I-FRI re-test after 7 days from the first test administration. All statistical analyses have been performed using IBM-SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 23.00. The results have been analyzed through the calculation of the Cronbach's alpha, the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and the Pearson's correlation coefficient.