French translation and validation of the exercise-induced leg pain Questionnaire

Objective: The “Exercise-Induced Leg Pain” questionnaire was developed (in German) for the evaluation of the severity of symptoms and sports ability in individuals with exercise-induced leg pain. The purpose of the present study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt this questionnaire into French and to study the reliability and validity of this French-language version.

Methods: The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the original “Exercise-Induced Leg Pain” was performed according to established guidelines. The translation part was carried out in six stages: (i) two initial translations from German to French; (ii) synthesis of the two translations; (iii) backward translations; (iv) comparison between the backward translations and the original questionnaire by an expert committee; (v) pretest; and (vi) approval of the final version of the French-language “Exercise-Induced Leg Pain” questionnaire. To validate this questionnaire, 84 subjects were recruited (28 pathological patients with a confirmed diagnosis of chronic leg pain, 28 asymptomatic sport students, and 28 healthy control athletes). The discriminative power of the questionnaire was tested, as well as its reliability (internal consistency and test–retest reliability after a 7–10-day interval), construct validity and floor/ceiling effects.

Results: The French version of the “Exercise-Induced Leg Pain” questionnaire was generated without any major difficulties. The ability of the questionnaire to discriminate between the three groups of subjects was demonstrated with a total score of 61.0 ± 18.5 for the pathologic group; 93.9 ± 7.57 for the asymptomatic group and 94.1 ± 9.79 for the control group. A high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of 0.93) and an excellent test–retest reliability [intraclass coefficient correlation: 0.98 (95% confidence interval: 0.97–0.99, p < 0.001)] indicated that the “Exercise-Induced Leg Pain” is reliable. The questionnaire also demonstrated good construct validity against different subscales of the Short Form-36 questionnaire, a generic quality of life questionnaire, with more than 87% of the prespecified hypotheses confirmed. Finally, no floor effects or ceiling effects were observed.

Conclusion: The French version of the « Exercise-Induced Leg Pain » was successfully translated and cross-culturally adapted. The questionnaire is consistent, valid and reliable for evaluating French-speaking patients with chronic exercise-induced leg pain.

Implications for rehabilitation
The “Exercise-Induced Leg Pain” questionnaire aims to assess the severity of symptoms that impact the function and sports ability of patients with exercise-induced leg pain;

The French version of the « Exercise-Induced Leg Pain » was successfully translated and cross-culturally adapted. The questionnaire is consistent, valid and reliable for evaluating French-speaking patients with chronic exercise-induced leg pain.