Cross-cultural adaptation of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale in Greek clinical population

Effects of Manual Therapy Plus Pain Neuroscience Education with Integrated Motivational Interviewing in Individuals with Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial Study

Background and Objectives: Chronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP) persists beyond 12 weeks. Manual therapy recommended for CNLBP demonstrates short-term efficacy. Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) teaches patients to modify pain perception through explanations, metaphors, and examples, targeting brain re-education. Motivational Interviewing (MI) enhances motivation for behavioral change, steering patients away from ambivalence and uncertainty. These approaches collectively address the multifaceted nature of CNLBP for effective management. The aim of this study was to investigate a manual therapy intervention combined with PNE with MI on pain, pressure pain threshold (PPT), disability, kinesiophobia, catastrophizing, and low back functional ability in individuals experiencing CNLBP. Materials and Methods: Sixty adults with CNLBP were randomly divided into three equal groups (each n = 20). The first group received manual therapy and PNE with integrated MI (combined therapy group), the second group underwent only manual therapy (manual therapy group), and the third group followed a general exercise program at home (control group). Pain in the last 24 h was assessed using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), functional ability with the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), PPT in the lumbar region through pressure algometry, kinesiophobia with the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK), catastrophizing with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), and performance using the Back Performance Scale (BPS) at baseline, in the fourth week, and six months post-intervention. Results: Statistically significant differences between the intervention groups and the control group were found in both the fourth-week measurement and the six-month follow-up, as evident in the NPRS and RMDQ scores, as well as in the total values of tested PPTs (p < 0.05). Differences were also observed between the two intervention groups, with a statistically greater improvement in the combined therapy group at both time points (fourth week and six-month follow-up) (p < 0.05). Regarding the TSK and PCS scores in the fourth week, statistically significant differences were observed between the two intervention groups compared to the control group, as well as between the two intervention groups (p < 0.05). However, in the six-month follow-up, statistically significant differences were found only between the combined therapy group and the other two groups, with the combined therapy group showing significant improvements (p < 0.05). In relation to BPS, both intervention groups exhibited statistically significant differences compared to the control group in the fourth week, without any significant differences between the two intervention groups. However, in the six-month follow-up, significant differences were noted between the combined therapy group and the other two groups (p < 0.05), with combined therapy demonstrating greater improvement. Conclusions: The addition of PNE with integrated MI enhanced the positive effects of a manual therapy intervention in all outcome measures. The combination of manual therapy plus PNE with integrated MI appeared to provide greater improvements compared to the isolated application of manual therapy, and these improvements also lasted longer. These short- and long-term positive effects are likely attributed to the combination of PNE with integrated MI, which contributed to increasing the effectiveness of the treatment. Further studies are required to investigate the optimum dosage of manual therapy and PNE with integrated MI in individuals with CNLBP.

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the brief assessment of recovery capital (BARC-10) scale into Bangla

Recovery capital is a construct central to the substance use disorder treatment and recovery field. Lack of structured instrument for its assessment in the local context necessitated the translation of the English self-assessment version of the "Brief Assessment of Recovery Capital" (BARC-10) scale to Bangla and the study of its psychometric properties. The objective was to develop a culturally adapted and validated Bangla version of the BARC-10 scale for substance use disorders patients. This study conducted in the period of January 2021 to March 2022 in the department of Psychiatry of a tertiary hospital and central drug addiction treatment center. Initially BARC-10 questionnaire was translated into Bangla (T1 and T2) by 2 separate translators and then synthesis of a single version (T12) was done based on the previous translations. After that 2 back translations (BT1 and BT2) were done by 2 more translators based on the synthesized version (T12). By reviewing all these forward and backward translations, an expert committee made the pre-final version after making some linguistic modification. Then data collection was done among 100 subjects who were selected purposively. Reliability was assessed by Cronbach alpha. Content validity, face validity and Construct validity by factor analysis were measured. Internal consistency measured by Cronbach alpha found was 0.846. No significant change in Cronbach alpha was observed following deleting any item. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good fit to data by a chi-square/df value1.33, RMSEA value 0.058. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value (.840) showed sampling adequacy. Exploratory factor analysis of the principal component identified 2 factors which had eigenvalues of more than 1. Scree plot also revealed similar factors. These 2 factors together explained 53.1% of the variance. All items were loaded under 2 factors after varimax rotation. The validated Bangla version of the BARC-10 demonstrated high internal reliability and validity. It can potentially be applied in "recovery-oriented" deaddiction service.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Reliability, and Validity of the Greek Version of the Fremantle Shoulder Awareness Questionnaire (FreSHAQ-GR) in Patients with Chronic Shoulder Pain

Shoulder pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal pathologies. The association of shoulder pain with impaired proprioception and bodily self-awareness called for the cross-cultural adaptation of the Fremantle Shoulder Awareness Questionnaire (FreSHAQ) in Greek. The FreSHAQ is a relatively new self-assessment 9-item scale for impaired somatic awareness in patients with shoulder pain. The study included 100 participants (54 women) between 20 and 80 years old, with chronic shoulder pain (>3 months duration), able to comprehend and speak Greek, and recruited from three private physical therapy practices. The cross-cultural adaptation process was followed to develop the Greek version of the questionnaire (FreSHAQ-GR). Further testing for construct validity via exploratory factor analysis and correlational analysis with the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), the Quick Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (QuickDASH), the pain catastrophizing scale (PCS), a pain intensity visual analog scale (PI-VAS) in the last week, and the demographic characteristics followed. Test-retest reliability of the FreSHAQ-GR in a sub-sample of patients (n = 25) was tested upon repeated completion of the scale after a week and examined with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1), the standard error of the measurement (SEM), and the minimum detectable change (MDC) indices. The internal consistency of the scale was also assessed. The factor analysis revealed that the scale comprised one factor relevant to shoulder awareness but with fewer items (first 6 items) than the original FreSHAQ. Additionally, the FreSHAQ-GR (both versions) demonstrated statistically significant correlations (Spearman's r) with participants' age (r = -0.31/-0.29, p < 0.002), the PI-VAS (r = 0.54/0.52, p < 0.001), the SPADI total score and both of its subscales (r = 0.39-0.45/0.34-0.39, p < 0.001), the QuickDASH (r = 0.37/0.34, p < 0.001), and the PCS (r = 0.50/0.40, p < 0.001). The questionnaire's internal consistency (Cronbach's α/McDonald's ω) was 0.833/0.827 for the 9-item and 0.871/0.867 for the 6-item FreSHAQ-GR. Test-retest reliability was excellent for both versions of the FreSHAQ-GR (ICC2,1(95% CI) = 0.97/0.98 (0.91-0.99/0.94-0.99), and with a low error margin (SEM = 1.31/0.94 and MDC95% = 3.63/2.61). Therefore, the FreSHAQ-GR (6-item version) possesses very good measurement properties and can be administered to Greek-speaking patients with chronic shoulder pain.

Validation of pain catastrophizing scale on breast cancer survivor

INTRODUCTION

Pain catastrophizing scale (PCS) is the most used scale to measure pain catastrophizing. In breast cancer survivors (BCS), pain catastrophizing is related to upper-limbs dysfunction and disability. This study aimed to assess the internal consistency, internal structure, and convergent validity of the Spanish version of the PCS in Spanish BCS.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Breast cancer survivors were recruited from the service of Medical Oncology of the University Clinical Hospital Virgen de la Victoria, in Málaga (Spain). The psychometric properties were evaluated with analysis factor structure by maximum likelihood extraction (MLE), internal consistency, and construct validity by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

RESULTS

Factor structure was three-dimensional, and one item was removed due to cross-loading. The new 12-item PCS showed a high internal consistency for the total score (α = 0.91) and a good homogeneity, and CFA revealed a satisfactory fit. PCS showed an acceptable correlation with FACS (r = 0.53, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Pain catastrophizing scale is a valid and reliable instrument to evaluate pain catastrophizing in Spanish BCS. This tool may help clinicians in the management of pain by assessing pain and by measuring the effect of interventions.