Abstract
Study design:This consisted of a translation and validation study. Background:Acute hamstring injury is a frequent muscle strain in sports that require high explosive strength, impulsion or running phases. Therefore, theFunctional Assessment Scale for Hamstring Injuryquestionnaire was developed to assess pain, physical activity level and ability to perform various exercises in patients with hamstring injuries. TheFunctional Assessment Scale for Hamstring Injuryquestionnaire is currently available in English, German, and Greek. Objectives:The goal of this study was to provide a cross-culturally adapted French-translation of the FASH questionnaire and to assess its psychometric performance. Methods:The French-translation and cross-cultural adaptation process were based on international recommendations, following six rigorous steps: (a) two initial translations from English to French; (b) synthesis of the two translations; (c) back-translations; (d) comparisons between the back-translations and the original questionnaire by an expert committee; (e) pretest; and (f) approval of the final French version of theFunctional Assessment Scale for Hamstring Injuryquestionnaire. To validate this French version, 116 subjects (17 pathological patients, 19 patients with other muscle injury, 40 athletes at risk, and 40 healthy control athletes) were recruited to complete theFunctional Assessment Scale for Hamstring Injuryquestionnaire. The Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used as a comparative questionnaire. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were evaluated by determining the test-retest reliability after a 48-60-h interval, internal consistency, construct validity, and floor/ceiling effects. Results:All of the items of theFunctional Assessment Scale for Hamstring Injuryquestionnaire were translated without any major difficulties. The questionnaire showed excellent discriminative power by obtaining significantly different scores from the four groups (p = 0.01). Regarding psychometric performances, the test-retest reliability was excellent (IntraClass Coefficient Correlation of 0.997). Very high internal consistency was also observed (Cronbach's alpha of 0.969). Correlations with the physical health subscales of the SF-36 were significant and considered to be strong, indicating an excellent convergent validity. The other subscales of the SF-36 (mental health) were weakly correlated with the FASH, reflecting good divergent validity. No floor or ceiling effects were observed. Conclusion:The French-translation of theFunctional Assessment Scale for Hamstring Injuryquestionnaire and its cross-cultural adaptation can be considered to be successful.Functional Assessment Scale for Hamstring Injury-French questionnaire is now a reliable and valid tool for patients suffering from acute hamstring injury, and its application in clinical practice is particularly relevant.