TRANSLATION, CULTURAL ADAPTATION, AND VALIDATION OF THE URDU VERSION OF RONALD MORRIS LOW BACK PAIN AND DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE IN THE PAKISTANI POPULATION

The most common cause of disability is low back pain, and it is common in every population, especially in the older generation. The most prevalent type of low back pain is non-specific low back ache. Low back pain is causing functional disabilities in both populations belonging to developed and underdeveloped countries. OBJECTIVE: To translate, culturally adapt and validate the Urdu version of Ronald Morris Low Back Pain and Disability Questionnaire in the Pakistani population. METHODOLOGY: The translation and cultural adaptation were performed in this study on 150 participants (86 men and 64 women) within the duration of one year. Kline method was used to calculate sample size, and beaten guidelines were used to conduct this cross-sectional study. Data were taken with a gap of 48 hours for test re-test reliability, whereas visual analog scale and Oswestry disability index-Urdu were used to measure validity. RESULTS: The Urdu-RMDQ demonstrated very good test-retest reliability (ICC= 0.846 (0.808-0.880); CI=95 percent). Cronbach's alpha was 0.860, indicating that RMQ has very good internal consistency. The item-total correlation value is 0.23, confirming that the Urdu version of the RMQ is internally consistent. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to assess convergence validity. The study found a strong correlation between RMDQ and the Visual analog scale, which means RMDQ has strong convergent validity. CONCLUSION: RMDQ Urdu is a reliable and valid instrument to measure low back pain and disability in the Pakistani population with excellent psychometric properties. KEYWORDS: Oswestry Disability Index, Pain, Reliability, Ronald Morris, RMDQ, Translations Visual analog scale, Validity.