Adaptation of the VISA-P Scale for Ukrainian-speaking Patients with Patellar Tendinopathy and Its Reliability

Abstract

Topicality. Among athletes, patellar tendinopathy is a significant prevalence, which requires complex and long-term physical rehabilitation. Analysis of the scientific literature shows that the VISA-P scale developed by the research group of the Australian Victorian Institute of Sport in 1998 is a reliable tool for monitoring the process of treatment and physical rehabilitation of people with patellar tendinopathy. VISA-P measures the level of symptoms, the ability to perform simple functional tests and the ability to exercise. The Research Methodology. The VISA-P scale consists of eight questions assessing the manifestation of knee pain in everyday life or the ability to compete. During the procedure for translating the English version of the VISA-P scale, the generally recognized basic steps were followed. Demographic characteristics (gender, age and number of sports hours per week) were documented for each test taker. To assess reliability, testing was carried out twice with an interval of 1 week. The level of difference between the results of the two tests was carried out according to Pearson's test (χ2). Internal consistency of questions on the VISA-P scale was determined by the value of Cronbach's alpha. All statistical analyzes were performed using STATISTICA version 6,0. The significance level corresponds to 5 %. The Research Results. The VISA-P scale turned out to be reliable, which is confirmed by the mean correlation coefficient (0,47) and the values of α-Cronbach (0,72 and 0,75 for the first and second tests). The average VISA-P score (± SD) was 82,67 (± 15,71) and 84,06 (± 19,04) points respectively for the first and second tests. The calculation of the Pearson's test (χ2) for the comparative characteristics of the responses during the first and second testing ranged from 0,7 to 3,32, which corresponded to p> 0.05. The absence of «ceiling effect» and «floor effect» testifies to the sensitivity of the Ukrainian version of the VISA-P scale. The limitation of this study is the involvement of the students in the questionnaire who did not have symptoms of patellar tendinopathy and/or its instrumental confirmation. Conclusions. The Ukrainian version of the VISA-P scale is equivalent to the original, has satisfactory test reliability and can serve as a tool for monitoring the process of physical rehabilitation of athletes with patellar tendinopathy.