Reliability and validity of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia in patients with traumatic hand-forearm injuries.

Abstract

Objective: Fear of movement in patients with traumatic hand-arm injuries can negatively affect functional outcomes. Therefore, it is important to evaluate fear of movement in this patient population. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia in patients with traumatic hand-forearm injuries.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Hand rehabilitation unit in a university hospital.

Participants: The study included 170 patients with traumatic hand-arm injuries and a mean age of 37.57 (11.85) years.

Main measures: Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory and pain severity rating (via Visual Analog Scale) were completed by interview in the first session. In addition, Modified Hand Injury Scoring System was used to determine severity of the injury. Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia was re-administered 15 days after the first session. Test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia were evaluated. In addition, exploratory factor analysis was completed using baseline data.

Results: Cronbach's alpha for the scale was 0.604, and test-retest reliability was acceptable (ICC = 0.646). Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia had a significant relationship with Beck Anxiety Inventory (r = 0.269, p < 0.001), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (r = 0.457, p < 0.001) and pain severity at rest (r = 0.168, p = 0.029). Factor analysis estimated the scale represented five subsections in this population.

Conclusions: Psychometric properties of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia were acceptable in patients with hand-forearm injuries. However, since our results were weaker than those in the literature, this should be considered when interpreting the results.