Culturally adapted back pain measures have a weak validation evidence base
The review found problems in adaptation methods and limited confidence in how well the resulting assessment tools perform.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review found generally poor or fair adaptation quality and weak evidence about how well culturally adapted low back pain measures perform. This raises uncertainty about the evidence supporting those versions. It does not show that every questionnaire is inaccurate, or measure whether any treatment improves pain.
The abstract does not identify which individual language versions have stronger evidence. Its overall ratings therefore cannot establish the performance of a particular version used in practice.
What researchers found
Quality of cultural adaptation
Across adapted low back pain measures; comparator and assessment timeframe were not reported. Ratings used the COSMIN checklist.
What the review assessed
Researchers examined how core low back pain measures were adapted for different cultural settings, alongside their measurement properties. The study assessed the methods and evidence supporting these tools, without testing a pain treatment.
Why confidence was limited
Poor reporting of pre-testing and small study samples contributed to the quality concerns. Evidence about measurement properties ranged from very low to low, making strong claims about comparability across adapted versions difficult.
The original publication
Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of Low Back Pain Core Outcome Measures: A Systematic Review.
Bakaa N, Babakhamseh A, Chan N et al.
Eur J Pain · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41225300
- Record checked
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