Background: Functional ability is directly related to quality of life and its
assessment is critical in clinical practice. There is lack of a worldwide accepted
rating scale adapted in the Greek language for evaluating functional ability in
patients with lower limb musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of this study was the
cross-cultural adaption of the Lower Extremity Functional Scale into Greek (LEFSGreek)
and the examination of its reliability properties in individuals with lower
extremity musculoskeletal disorders.
Method and Material: One hundred and one randomly selected individuals from a
population consisting of community-dwelling elderly people with lower extremity
musculoskeletal disorders participated in the present study. Item analysis of LEFSGreek
was conducted based on the collected data at initial assessment (day-1). The
reliability properties of the instrument were tested using the following measures;
internal consistency, repeatability, test-retest reliability and convergent validity.
Results: Item analysis demonstrated that all items of the scale had good
variability. LEFS-Greek internal consistency was excellent with an overall Cronbach's
a at 0.974. Pearson’s r and intraclass correlation coefficient revealed excellent
correlations [0.986 and 0.986 respectively, (p<0.001)] between initial assessment and
re-assessment (day-8). The paired samples t-test between the scale’s total score at
initial assessment and re-assessment indicated no statistically significant
differences (NS, p=0.658). LEFS-Greek convergent validity analysis indicated that the
items were strongly related to the same construct.
Conclusions: The Greek version of LEFS is a reliable assessment tool that can be used to measure functional ability in individuals with lower-extremity musculoskeletal
disorders.
(EN)
