French translation and validation of the OSTRC-H2 questionnaire on overuse injuries and health problems in elite athletes

Abstract

Background: To evaluate the burden of overuse injuries, the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) questionnaire on health problems (OSTRC-H2) was developed in English in 2013.

Purpose: To translate and culturally adapt the OSTRC-H2 into French and investigate the reliability and validity of this new version.

Study Design: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: The OSTRC-H2 was translated from English to French according to international guidelines. A total of 80 elite athletes were then invited to complete the OSTRC-H2 weekly for 3 months. Potential ceiling effects, construct validity, and reliability were investigated. Convergent validity was measured using Pearson correlations for continuous items and kappa coefficients for binary items; internal consistency was measured using the Cronbach alpha coefficient; and test-retest reliability was measured using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Separate analyses were performed on the entire cohort of athletes (population 1 [P1]) and on athletes who reported a health problem during the follow-up (P2).

Results: A total of 80 elite athletes took part in this study. The response rate was very high, with 909 of 960 questionnaires returned (95%). The mean weekly prevalence of health problems was 19.6% during the follow-up period. Nineteen participants reported a health problem during the follow-up (P2). The OSTRC-H2 showed very good test-retest reliability for both populations (ICC, 0.85 [95% CI, 0.77-0.90] for P1; ICC, 0.90 [95% CI, 0.68-0.98] for P2). Internal consistency was very good for P2 (Cronbach α = .94). The OSTRC-H2 demonstrated high concordance with the visual analog scale of symptom intensity (r = 0.52; P < .05), and low concordance with the overtraining questions from the Questionnaire de la Société Française de Médecine du Sport (κ from –0.01 to 0.12; P > .05).

Conclusion: The French version of the OSTRC-H2 was found to be valid and reliable when applied to French-speaking elite athletes.