Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Validity, and Reliability of the Persian Version of the Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire

STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. PURPOSE: To cross-culturally translate the Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire (OMPQ) into Persian and then evaluate its psychometric properties (reliability, validity, ceiling, and flooring effects). OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: To the authors' knowledge, prior to this study there has been no validated instrument to screen the risk of chronicity in Persian-speaking patients with low back pain (LBP) in Iran. The OMPQ was specifically developed as a self-administered screening tool for assessing the risk of LBP chronicity. METHODS: The forward–backward translation method was used for the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the original questionnaire. In total, 202 patients with subacute LBP completed the OMPQ and the pain disability questionnaire (PDQ), which was used to assess convergent validity. 62 patients completed the OMPQ a week later as a retest. RESULTS: Slight changes were made to the OMPQ during the translation/cultural adaptation process; face validity of the Persian version was obtained. The Persian OMPQ showed excellent test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.89). Its internal consistency was 0.71, and its convergent validity was confirmed by good correlation coefficient between the OMPQ and PDQ total scores (r=0.72, p<0.05). No ceiling or floor effects were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The Persian version of the OMPQ is acceptable for the target society in terms of face validity, construct validity, reliability, and consistency. It is therefore considered a useful instrument for screening Iranian patients with LBP.

[Surveying ergonomic factors of backpack in Tehranian primary school children]

Children are in their developing years and their bones and physical structure has not yet fully developed to a point of resiliency that can withstand stress, pressure, and a modicum of physical abuse and about 90% of students are carrying backpacks. Unsuitable backpacks cause shoulder pain, back pain, low back pain and skeletal malformation. Carrying backpacks heavier than 10% of body weight is not recommended. Thus, the objective of this study was to survey adaption between student backpacks and their anthropometric dimension. In this descriptive- analytical study, 50 primary school children [10 females and 40 males] cooperated in anthropometric measurement and its comparison with their backpack dimension. 212 female school children were contributed in comparison between their backpack weight and 10% body weight. Body dimensions were measured with VICON Analyze motion system [460V, oxford, UK] and ergonomics factors for their backpacks were recorded by a checklist. Weight measured with a digital scale and BMI was calculated based on WHO software. Significant difference was shown between shoulder breath-backpack width up, waist breath - backpack width down, shoulder width-shoulder strap width and back height-backpack height. 8% backpack handles, 44%shoulder straps and 34% backpack behinds had good padding. Two percent of backpacks had waist strap and no backpacks had chest strap. 8% of shoulder straps were S shaped and 4% of backpacks were rolling. Just 28.3% backpack weights have been under 10% of body weight. Ergonomics knowledge regarding backpacks is very important for selecting and buying the right product. However, the backpack producers should also be' informed to produce ergonomics backpack. The reduction of extra items in children backpacks by parents is beneficial, but effective management programs by ministry of education is also needed for informing school administrative persons and school children about the health problem of carring un ergonomic backpacks

[Test- retest reliability of coordination and movement pattern stability measures during repetitive trunk bending in healthy and non specific low back pain groups]

To define the dynamic organization of the neuromuscular system, we need useful tools that allow for the expression of the neuromuscular system in low dimensional term [i.e one variable], so it seems that relative phase provides a better measure of organization of the neuromuscular system. Besides, selection of a measure for research or clinical use should be motivated by several factors, including the measure reliability. To our knowledge there seems to exist no study that have ever investigated the reliability of the relative phase and deviation phase in healthy or Low back pain subjects in dynamic movement tasks. Twelve healthy volunteers and 12 low back pain patients performed repeated trunk bending motion in eight different conditions of high and low speed, in symmetric and asymmetric planes, with or without external load. All measurements were repeated on a second session, 7-10 days later. Mean absolute relative phase and deviation phase of lumbar-thorax and pelvis-lumbar were used to calculate coordination pattern and variability. Relative reliability was assessed using intra class correlation coefficient [ICC] and absolute reliability was assessed using standard error measurement, minimum detectable change and coefficient of variation. Results in healthy subjects revealed that relative phase and deviation phase showed good to excellent reliability, with ICC range of 5.3-8.4 and in low back pain group ICC range was0 /52-0/85 except in three asymmetric test conditions and one symmetric test condition. SEM values range for healthy subjects were 0/92-4/8 and for low back patients were 1/2-5/8. Relative phase and deviation phase are suggested as good parameter to use for evaluating coordination and variability in dynamic situations such as lifting and complex trunk movement and also for discrimination low back pain patients from healthy subjects.