Cross-cultural adaptation to Japanese of the Lumbar Spine Instability Questionnaire

Abstract

The Lumbar Spine Instability Questionnaire (LSIQ) is a useful tool to predict individuals with low back pain (LBP) who respond to the motor control approach rather than cognitive behavioral therapy. The LSIQ investigates the presence of 14 clinical symptoms of lumbar instability. In this study, we aimed to develop a Japanese version of the LSIQ according to an international guideline for cross-cultural adaptation of questionnaires. We found that there were some unclear expressions during the process of developing a provisional LSIQ. Therefore, with the aim of not losing the content of each item by modifying a part of items based on descriptions in a Delph study in 2006 which was the basis of the LSIQ, we intended to use natural Japanese expressions. The result of pilot testing including 30 participants with LBP with or without leg symptoms showed that out of 420 responses (30 participants × 14 items), there was only one comment of “unable to understand”, thus provisional LSIQ used in the pilot testing became the final version of the LSIQ. Consequently, the Japanese version of LSIQ that is comprehensible for a wide range of individuals with LBP has been developed and is expected to be used in future studies.