Translation and Adaptation of the French Version of the Risk Stratification Index, a Tool for Stratified Care in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Pilot Study.

Background and Objectives : Low back pain is a worldwide health problem. An early diagnosis is required to develop personalized treatment strategies. The Risk Stratification Index (RSI) was developed to serve the purpose. The aim of this pilot study is to cross-culturally translate the RSI to a French version (RSI-F) and evaluate the test-retest reliability of RSI-F using a French active population. Materials and Methods : The RSI was translated from German to French (RSI-F) based on the guidelines of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. A total of 42 French recreational athletes (age 18-63 years) with non-specific low back pain were recruited and filled in the RSI-F twice. The test-retest reliability was examined using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC 1,2 ) and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results : Finally, 33 questionnaires were analyzed (14 males and 19 females, age 31 ± 10 years, 9.5 ± 3.2 h/week of training). The test-retest of RSI-F CPI and DISS were excellent (CPI: ICC 1,2 = 0.989, p < 0.001; r = 0.989, p < 0.001; DISS: ICC 1,2 = 0.991, p < 0.001; r = 0.991, p < 0.001), as well as Korff pain intensity (ICC 1,2 = 0.995, p < 0.001; r = 0.995, p < 0.001) and disability (ICC 1,2 = 0.998, p < 0.001; r = 0.998, p < 0.001). Conclusion : The RSI-F is linguistically accurate and reliable for use by a French-speaking active population with non-specific low back pain. The RSI-F is considered a tool to examine the evolution of psychosocial factors and therefore the risk of chronicity and the prognostic of pain. Further evaluations, such as internal, external validity, and responsiveness should be evaluated in a larger population.