The Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia: A Rasch analysis of its properties in subjects with low back and more widespread pain.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia in patients with low back pain and in patients with more widespread pain distribution including low back pain. SUBJECTS A total of 120 subjects, 48 with isolated low back pain and 72 with more widespread pain distribution were included. DESIGN AND METHODS The Norwegian translation of the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia, Hopkins Symptom Check List 25 question version and Fear Avoidance Behaviour Questionnaire were completed. The properties of the Norwegian translation of the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia were explored by a Rasch analysis. RESULTS The Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia fitted the Rasch model and passed the independent t-test for a unidimensional scale. The response categories for some of the items needed to be collapsed from 4 to 3 levels. Only the item "It's not really safe for a person with a condition like mine to be physically active" was significantly different in men and women. CONCLUSION The Norwegian translation of Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia seems to reflect a unidimensional construct of kinesiophobia. The scale seemed to be quite robust across age and gender, and the response patterns to the items were similar in patients with low back pain and widespread pain distribution including low back pain.