VISA-A (sedentary) Scale
Introduction[edit | edit source]
The Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) questionnaire is one of the most widely used PROMs for patients with Achilles tendinopathy (AT), covering the domains of symptoms, function and physical activity. However, the VISA-A was developed with an athletic population and the psychometric properties of the questionnaire in sedentary individuals are unknown.1
VISA-A(sedentary) scale is an appropriate outcome recommended for sedentary patients with AT. About 35% of patients with AT describes their symptoms related to sport activities, while majority of patients with AT are runners.
Objective[edit | edit source]
The VISA A (sedentary) aims to evaluate a modified version of the VISA-A that can be used in sedentary patients with AT. The VISA-A (sedentary), was developed to measure the severity of AT using the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) recommendations.
Intended population[edit | edit source]
- Patients were included if they were aged 18 years or older with a clinical diagnosis of AT but did not participate in Achilles tendon loading sports.
Method of Use[edit | edit source]
The construct to be measured by the VISA-A (sedentary) was the severity of AT in sedentary patients, with eight questions covering symptoms and their impact on activity. The questionnaire contains eight questions, covering three necessary domains: 1) pain, 2) functional status, and 3) activity (= three significant domains of dysfunction):
- Questions 1 is related to stiffness following inactivates
- Questions 2-3 are related to pain. (in this questionnaire, the term "pain" refers specifically to pain in the Achilles tendon region).
- Questions 4-6 are related to function.
- Questions 7-8 are related to activity.( e.g. walking, gardening, or housework)
- Question 8 actually contains three questions: a) no pain with walking, b) some pain with walking and c) pain that stop you from walking.
The structure and item weighting remained consistent with the VISA-A with lower scores indicating greater severity of AT.
