Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version VISA-P Questionnaire for Patellar Tendinopathy in Adolescent Elite Volleyball Athletes

Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation, and Validation of the Traditional Chinese Version of the VISA-P Questionnaire

Background

The Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Patella (VISA-P) questionnaire is a widely accepted instrument for measuring the severity of symptoms and pain in patients having sustained patellar tendinopathy.

Purpose

To adapt the VISA-P questionnaire cross-culturally to a traditional Chinese version (VISA-P-Ch) and validate its psychometric properties.

Study Design

Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 3.

Methods

The VISA-P questionnaire was adapted to a traditional Chinese version following international recommended guidelines, including translation, synthesis, back translation, revision by expert committee, pretesting, and validation. The psychometric properties were tested in 15 healthy controls and 15 participants with patellar tendinopathy. Face validity was judged by the authors and participants. Known-groups validity was tested by comparing the VISA-P-Ch scores between symptomatic and asymptomatic participants using an independent t test. Concurrent validity was determined by comparing the Blazina classification of the participants against VISA-P-Ch scores using the Spearman correlation coefficient. Test-retest reliability was assessed by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) following a 24- to 48-hour interval. Internal consistency was determined by the Cronbach alpha.

Results

The expert committee and participants reported good face validity of the VISA-P-Ch. Significantly higher scores were found in the control group than in the patellar tendinopathy group (98.47 ± 3.04 vs 65 ± 11.9; P < .001). Concurrent validity showed a high correlation between VISA-P-Ch and the Blazina classification system (r = -0.899; P < .01). The test-retest reliability was excellent (ICC = 0.964). Internal consistency was found to be good for both the first and second assessments (Cronbach α = 0.834 and 0.851).

Conclusion

The VISA-P-Ch was proven to be a reliable and valid questionnaire with similar psychometric properties as the original VISA-P.

Patient-reported outcome measures for patellofemoral disorders: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Patellofemoral conditions include, but are not limited to, anterior knee pain syndrome and patellar instability. Patients and surgeons may find it difficult to identify the specific source of the symptoms and clinical scenarios, so patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) may be a useful diagnostic aid. There are a number of available PROMs for patellofemoral conditions, which are often used indistinctly. This systematic review explores the available PROMs for patellofemoral conditions, their use and methodological quality.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted, searching for scientific articles relating to PROMs in patellofemoral conditions, from inception to July 2022. Scoring systems including physician-directed or imagining assessment were not included. All types of conditions in the patellofemoral joint were considered.

RESULTS

Twenty-two relevant PROMs were encountered, divided into four categories: eight PROMs for anterior knee pain syndrome, five for patellar instability, four for other patellofemoral conditions and five for non-specific PROMs.

CONCLUSIONS

While many PROMs have been found used in patellofemoral research, only few of them have showed sufficient methodological quality. In addition, PROMs employed in PF literature are often inaccurately chosen. This review may help authors to better understand the characteristics of specific patellofemoral PROMs, in order to select the more appropriate and recommended ones.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level II.

Cross-cultural adaptation, validity, reliability and responsiveness of the Japanese version of the Victorian Institute of sports assessment for patellar tendinopathy (VISA-P-J)

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to translate, adapt, and test the psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the Victorian Institute of sports assessment for patellar tendinopathy (VISA-P-J).

METHODS

This prospective cohort study registered 43 participants ≥ 18 years old with a history of painful symptoms in the inferior pole of the patella to the proximal patellar tendon lasting ≥ 1 month for patellar tendinopathy. Pain in daily life and during sports activities, symptom classification, and patient global impression of change were assessed at the baseline, 1 week, and 12 weeks. The psychometric properties, test-retest reliability, standard error of measurement, internal consistency criterion validity, construct validity, responsiveness, and interpretability, of the VISA-P-J were calculated according to the COSMIN.

RESULTS

The two-way random-effects, absolute agreement intraclass correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability of VISA-P-J was 0.87 (95% confidence interval: 0.78, 0.93), and the standard error of measurement of VISA-P-J was 0.89. The Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency of VISA-P-J was 0.81. A correlation between VISA-P-J and Roel's classification, Visual Analog Scale for pain (VAS)-Active Daily Living, and VAS-Sports (r = - 0.52, r = - 0.66, r = - 0.86, p < 0.01, respectively) was observed for criterion validity. All hypotheses of the hypothesis-testing method to evaluate construct validity and responsiveness of VISA-P-J were substantiated. The minimal clinically important difference of VISA-P-J was 7 points.

CONCLUSION

We demonstrated that the VISA-P-J was a reliable, valid, and responsive assessment method for individuals with chronic pain in the patellar tendon.

The Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment Scale for Patellar Tendinopathy (VISA-P): A Reliability Generalization Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

The Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Patella (VISA-P) is a questionnaire to assess the severity of patellar tendinopathies. Its use requires good reliability indicators: internal consistency, test-retest and parallel forms. Several studies have been published examining this question, but to date the reliability of this questionnaire (meta-analysis) has not been generalized. The aim of this study was to perform a meta-analysis to generalize the reliability of the VISA-P.

DATA SOURCES

MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Scopus.

STUDY SELECTION

Studies included were those examining the reliability coefficients of the VISA-P: Cronbach alpha, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and parallel-forms (correlation coefficients compared with other scales).

DATA EXTRACTION

All coefficients were extracted and the mean reliability was obtained using fixed- or random-effects models. Sensitivity (leave-one-out analysis) was analyzed. Quality assessment was performed using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Of 364 scientific articles, 12 fulfilled meta-analysis criteria. The summary statistic was 0.86 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.78-0.92] for Cronbach alpha and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.89-0.97) for the ICC. Parallel forms depended on the comparative test used, ranging from -0.83 to 0.68. The sensitivity analysis found an influential study for the parallel-forms reliability in the Blazina score. We were unable to analyze the asymmetry of funnel plots and meta-regression models because of the number of studies.

CONCLUSIONS

The reliability of VISA-P for assessing the severity of patellar tendinopathies requires greater evaluation with more scientific evidence before it can be implemented in clinical practice.

A systematic review evaluating the clinimetric properties of the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment (VISA) questionnaires for lower limb tendinopathy shows moderate to high-quality evidence for sufficient reliability, validity and responsiveness-part II

PURPOSE

The evaluation of measurement properties such as reliability, measurement error, construct validity, and responsiveness provides information on the quality of the scale as a whole, rather than on an item level. We aimed to synthesize the measurement properties referring to reliability, measurement error, construct validity, and responsiveness of the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment questionnaires (Achilles tendon-VISA-A, greater trochanteric pain syndrome-VISA-G, proximal hamstring tendinopathy-VISA-H, patellar tendon-VISA-P).

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted according to Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments methodology (COSMIN). PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science, SportsDiscus, grey literature, and reference lists were searched. Studies assessing the measurement properties concerning reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the VISA questionnaires in patients with lower limb tendinopathies were included. Two reviewers assessed the methodological quality of studies assessing reliability, validity, and responsiveness using the COSMIN guidelines and the evidence for these measurement properties. A modified Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was applied to the evidence synthesis.

RESULTS

There is moderate-quality evidence for sufficient VISA-A, VISA-G, and VISA-P reliability. There is moderate-quality evidence for sufficient VISA-G and VISA-P measurement error, and high-quality evidence for sufficient construct validity for all the VISA questionnaires. Furthermore, high-quality evidence exists with regard to VISA-A for sufficient responsiveness in patients with insertional Achilles tendinopathy following conservative interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

Sufficient reliability, measurement error, construct validity and responsiveness were found for the VISA questionnaires with variable quality of evidence except for VISA-A which displayed insufficient measurement error.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

IV.

REGISTRATION DETAILS

Prospero (CRD42018107671); PROSPERO reference-CRD42019126595.

Evaluating lower limb tendinopathy with Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment (VISA) questionnaires: a systematic review shows very-low-quality evidence for their content and structural validity-part I

PURPOSE

The Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment (Achilles tendon-VISA-A, greater trochanteric pain syndrome-VISA-G, proximal hamstring tendinopathy-VISA-H, patellar tendon-VISA-P) questionnaires are widely used in research and clinical practice; however, no systematic reviews have formally evaluated their content, structural, and cross-cultural validity evidence. The measurement properties referring to content, structural and cross-cultural validity of the VISA questionnaires were appraised and synthesized.

METHODS

The systematic review was conducted according to Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) methodology. PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science, SportsDiscus, grey literature, and reference lists were searched. Development studies and cross-cultural adaptations (12 languages) assessing content or structural validity of the VISA questionnaires were included and two reviewers assessed their methodological quality. Evidence for content (relevance, comprehensiveness, and comprehensibility), structural, and cross-cultural validity was synthesized. A modified Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was applied to evidence synthesis.

RESULTS

The VISA-A presented very-low-quality evidence of sufficient relevance, insufficient comprehensiveness, and inconsistent comprehensibility. VISA-G displayed moderate-quality evidence for sufficient comprehensibility and very-low-quality evidence of sufficient relevance and comprehensiveness. The VISA-P presented very-low-quality evidence of sufficient relevance, insufficient comprehensiveness, and inconsistent comprehensibility, while VISA-H presented very-low evidence of insufficient content validity. VISA-A displayed low-quality evidence for structural validity concerning unidimensionality and internal structure, while VISA-H presented low-quality evidence of insufficient unidimensionality. The structural validity of VISA-G and VISA-P were indeterminate and inconsistent, respectively. Internal consistency for VISA-G, VISA-H, and VISA-P was indeterminate. No studies evaluated cross-cultural validity, while measurement invariance across sexes was assessed in one study.

CONCLUSIONS

Only very-low-quality evidence exists for the content and structural validity of VISA questionnaires when assessing the severity of symptoms and disability in patients with lower limb tendinopathies.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

IV.

REGISTRATION

PROSPERO reference-CRD42019126595.

The adaptation of sport assessment-patella questionnaire into simplified Chinese version: cross-cultural adaptation, reliability and validity

Background

The original version of Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Patella Questionnaire (VISA-P) is developed in English, and aimed to assess the severity of patellar tendinopathy symptoms. Before used in China, it should be translated to Chinese version.

Objectives

Our aim is to make a translation/cross-culturally adaption for the VISA-P into simplified Chinese version (VISA-PC). And primarily validate the VISA-PC in Chinese speaking population.

Methods

The translation process of VISA-P questionnaire into simplified Chinese version (VISP-PC) followed the International recognized guideline. Cross-cultural adaptation was carried out with a clinical measurement study. A total of 128 projects which consisted 33 healthy students, 39 patients with patellar tendinopathy and 56 military students (receive military training as at-risk population) were included into this study. Internal consistency was evaluated with Cronbach’s alpha, and test-retest reliability was assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Construct validity and floor and ceiling effects were also tested.

Results

The scores were 95.84 ± 5.97 of healthy group, 91.87 ± 9.03 of at-risk group, 62.49 ± 11.39 of pathological group. There is no ceiling and floor effect of VISA-PC. The Cronbach’s alpha (0.895) and ICC (0.986) values showed good internal consistency and reliability. There were high correlations between VISA-PC and Kujala patellofemoral score (r = 0.721). VISA-PC score also had good correlation with the relevant SF-36 items.

Conclusion

The VISA-PC was well translated into simplified Chinese version (VISA-PC), which is reliable and valid for Chinese-speaking patients with patellar tendinopathy.

Level of evidence

II.

Reliability and validity of Kannada version of Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment for patellar tendinopathy (VISA-P-K) questionnaire

BACKGROUND

In sporting activities, patellar tendon is commonly subjected to overuse and it influences the athletes' career especially in elite basketball and volleyball players. A condition specific and self-administrated questionnaire is required for clinical and research purpose to rate disability. The Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment for patellar tendinopathy (VISA-P) questionnaire is widely accepted and a valid tool to assess pain and athletes, suffering from PT, ability to participate in sports. So, the objective of this study is to develop and validate Kannada version of VISA-P questionnaire among Kannada speaking population athletes.

OBJECTIVE

To translate VISA-P questionnaire into Kannada and to study reliability and validity of Kannada version.

METHODOLOGY

Translation and cross-culture adaptation were performed according to the guidelines followed internationally. Those are: translation, synthesis, back-translation, revision by expert committee, pretesting and appraisal by advisory committee. The psychometric properties were tested by administering the questionnaire to 70 subjects (35 symptomatic and 35 asymptomatic). For test-retest reliability, athletes with patellar tendinopathy were tested twice within a week and test-retest reliability was assessed by Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). The validity was tested by comparing the VISA-P-Kannada questionnaire (VISA-P-K) against Blazina classification of patellar tendinopathy (BCPT) using Spearman correlation coefficient.

RESULT

The test-retest reliability was excellent (ICC 0.97). Internal consistency was found to be good (Cronbach's alpha = 0.98). The VISA-PK showed significant correlation by comparing against Blazina and Spearman's score (r = 0.72, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

The VISA-P-K translation and adaptation processes were successful. The adapted instrument demonstrated good psychometric properties. The VISA-P-K has proven to be reliable and valid tool and can be used in the Kannada speaking patients with patellar tendinopathy.

Confirmatory factor analysis of VISA-P scale and measurement invariance across sexes in athletes with patellar tendinopathy

BACKGROUND

The Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Patella (VISA-P) scale is the most condition-specific patient-reported outcome measure used to assess symptom severity in athletes with patellar tendinopathy. Previous exploratory factor analyses have been conducted to evaluate the scale's dimensionality, with inconsistent results, and the factor structure of the scale remains unclear. The aims of the present study were to determine the factorial structure of the VISA-P scale using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and test measurement invariance across sexes.

METHODS

The study included a convenience sample of 249 Spanish athletes with patellar tendinopathy. CFA was performed to assess factorial validity. Hypothesized 1- and 2-factor models were tested. Measurement invariance across sexes was evaluated via multi-group CFA with several fit indices using EQS 6.1 software.

RESULTS

The internal consistency coefficient was 0.74. Several CFA models were examined and the 1-factor model in which errors for Items 7 and 8 were correlated showed acceptable fit in terms of comparative fit index (CFI) and goodness-of-fit index (GFI) statistics (CFI = 0.93; GFI = 0.94; standardized root mean square residual = 0.06; root mean square error of approximation = 0.10; 90% confidence interval: 0.08-0.13). This model was invariant across sexes.

CONCLUSION

The 1-factor model of the Spanish version of the VISA-P scale (VISA-P-Sp) in which errors for Items 7 and 8 were correlated demonstrated relative fit in CFA. Scores obtained via VISA-P-Sp can be compared between men and women without sexes bias. Further studies should examine the VISA-P scale and other single-score patient-reported outcome measures concurrently.

Cross-cultural adaptation of VISA-P score for patellar tendinopathy in Turkish population

INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

VISA-P questionnaire assesses to severity of symptoms and treatment effects in athletes with patellar tendinopathy. The purpose of this study was to translated VISA-P questionnaire into Turkish language and to determine its validity and reliability.

METHODS

The English version of VISA-P questionnaire was translated into Turkish according to the internationally recommended guidelines. Test-retest reliability was determined on 89 participants with time interval 24 h. To determine validity of Turkish VISA-P, 31 (17 male, 14 female) healthy students, 34 (20 male, 14 female) patients with patellar tendinopathy (diagnosed by physical examination and ultrasonography) and 24 (16 male, 8 female) volleyball players (at risk populations) were completed VISA-P-Tr. Internal consistency was determined with Cronbach's alpha. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated to analyse test-retest reliability. To assessment of discrimination, VISA-P-Tr scores compared all groups using the Mann-Whitney-U test.

RESULTS

The VISA-P-Tr questionnaire showed good test-retest reliability (The Cronbach's alpha was 0.79 and 0.78 respectively and ICC was 0.96). The VISA-P-Tr score (mean ± SD) were 93.7 ± 8.9 and 94.0 ± 8.1 for healthy students, 81.1 ± 13.7 and 80.7 ± 13.4 for volleyball players, 58.8 ± 12.1 and 58.5 ± 11.0 for athletes with patellar tendinopathy.

CONCLUSION

The translated Turkish version of VISA-P has good internal consistency and good reliability and validity. Therefore VISA-P-Tr is useful to evaluate symptoms and follow the treatment effect in athletes with patellar tendinopathy.

Cross-cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Patella Questionnaire for French-Speaking Patients With Patellar Tendinopathy

Study Design Clinical measurement study. Background The Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Patella (VISA-P), originally developed in English, assesses the severity of patellar tendinopathy symptoms. To date, no French version of the questionnaire exists. Objectives The aim of our study was to translate the VISA-P into French and verify its psychometric properties. Methods The translation and cultural adaptation were performed according to international recommendations in 6 steps: initial translation, translation merging, back translation to the original language, use of an expert committee to reach a prefinal version, test of the prefinal version, and expert committee appraisal of a final version. Afterward, the psychometric properties of the final French version (VISA-PF) were assessed in 92 subjects, divided into 3 groups: pathological subjects (n = 28), asymptomatic subjects (n = 22), and sports-risk subjects (n = 42). Results All members of the expert committee agreed with the final version. On a scale ranging from 0 to 100, with 100 representing an asymptomatic subject, the average ± SD scores on the VISA-PF were 53 ± 17 for the pathological group, 99 ± 2 for the healthy group, and 86 ± 14 for the sports-risk group. The test-retest reliability of the VISA-PF was excellent, with good internal consistency. Correlations between the VISA-PF and divergent validity of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) were low, and the correlation coefficient values measured between the VISA-PF scores and converged items of the SF-36 were higher. Conclusion The VISA-PF is understandable, valid, and suitable for French-speaking patients with patellar tendinopathy. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2016;46(5):384-390. Epub 21 Mar 2016. doi:10.2519/jospt.2016.5937.

The abdominal drawing-in manoeuvre for detecting activity in the deep abdominal muscles: is this clinical tool reliable and valid?

OBJECTIVE

The abdominal drawing-in manoeuvre (ADIM) is a common clinical tool for manually assessing whether a preferential activation of the deep abdominal muscles in patients with low back pain (LBP) is 'correct' or not. The validity and reliability of manual assessment of the ADIM are, however, as yet unknown. This study evaluated the concurrent and discriminative validity and reliability of the manually assessed ADIM.

DESIGN

Single-blinded cross-sectional study.

SETTINGS

General population in Stockholm County, Sweden.

PARTICIPANTS

The study sample comprised 38 participants seeking care for LBP, and 15 healthy subjects.

MEASURES

The manual ADIM was assessed as correct or not following a standard procedure. Ultrasound imaging (USI) was used as the concurrent reference (gold standard) for the manually assessed ADIM by calculating a ratio of the change in muscle thickness between the resting and the contracted states: the correlation between manual test and USI was calculated. Discriminative validity was analysed by calculating sensitivity and specificity. A sample of 24 participants was analysed with κ coefficients for interobserver reliability between two raters.

RESULTS

The concurrent validity between the manual ADIM and the ADIM-USI ratios showed poor correlations (r=0.13-0.40). The discriminative validity of the manually assessed ADIM to predict LBP showed a sensitivity/specificity of 0.30/0.73, while the ADIM-USI ratio to predict LBP showed 0.19/0.87. The interobserver reliability for the manually assessed ADIM revealed substantial agreement: K=0.71, CI (95%) 0.41 to 1.00.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the interobserver reliability of the manually assessed ADIM was high, the concurrent and discriminative validity were both low for examining the preferential activity of the deep abdominal muscles. Neither the manually assessed ADIM nor the ultrasound testing discriminated between participants with LBP and healthy subjects regarding preferential activity of the transversus muscle as this ability/inability was also present in healthy subjects.

Outcome Evaluation in Tendinopathy: Foundations of Assessment and a Summary of Selected Measures

Synopsis Clinical measurement studies that address outcome evaluation for patients with tendinopathy should consider conceptual, clinical, practical, and measurement issues to guide the selection of valid measures. Clinical outcomes reported in research studies can provide benchmarks that assist with interpretation of scores during clinical decision making. Given the pathophysiology and functional impacts of tendinopathy, there is a need for outcome measures that assess physical impairments, activity performance, and patient-reported symptoms and function. Tendinopathy-specific patient-reported outcome measures have been shown to be superior to more generic tools for some conditions, such as lateral epicondyle tendinopathy (Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation) and Achilles tendinopathy (Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles), whereas both generic shoulder outcome measures and disease-specific measures perform similarly in individuals with rotator cuff tendinopathy. A patient-reported outcome measure that captures pain and limitation in function should be fundamental to outcome evaluation in patients with tendinopathy. The current measurement literature does not yet provide comprehensive empirical data to define optimal outcome measures for all types of tendinopathy. This article reviews concepts, instruments, and measurement properties that should provide clinicians with a foundation for assessment of condition severity and treatment outcomes in patients with tendinopathy. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2015;45(11):950-964. Epub 15 Oct 2015. doi:10.2519/jospt.2015.6054.