Zhuo Linda Xiaoqian, Macedo Luciana Gazzi
School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol. 2021 Mar 26;8(1):e18942. doi: 10.2196/18942.
Low back pain (LBP) is a highly prevalent condition affecting individuals of all ages. To manage the symptoms and prevent recurrences and flare-ups, physical activity in conjunction with self-management education is recommended. Tools such as diaries and questionnaires have been the gold standard for tracking physical activity in clinical studies. However, there are issues with consistency, accuracy, and recall with the use of these outcome measures. Given the growth of technology in today's society, consumer-grade activity monitors have become a common and convenient method of recording physical activity data.
The aim of this study is to test the feasibility and convergent validity of a Garmin Vivofit 3 activity tracker in evaluating physical activity levels in a clinical trial of patients with LBP.
We recruited 17 individuals with nonspecific LBP referred from health care professionals or self-referred through advertisements in the community. The participants entered into a 12-week physical activity and self-management program. Physical activity was assessed using a self-reported questionnaire and the Garmin activity tracker. Activity tracker data (eg, steps taken, distance walked, and intensity minutes) were extracted weekly from the Garmin Connect online platform. Outcomes of pain and activity limitation were assessed weekly using a mobile app. A linear regression was conducted to evaluate if demographic factors (ie, age, gender, pain level) affected the adherence rates to the activity monitor. We also used Pearson correlations to evaluate the convergent validity of the Garmin activity tracker with the physical activity questionnaire.
The mean daily adherence rate for activity monitors was 70% (SD 31%) over the 26 weeks of study. The mean response rate for the weekly physical activity measures using REDCap for the first 12 weeks of the study was 91% (SD 17%). None of the hypothesized variables or questionnaires were predictors of response rate.
The majority of participants were compliant with wearing the tracker, and demographic factors were not found to be predictors of adherence to wearing the device. However, there were poor correlations between the modified International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and the activity monitor, demonstrating problems with convergent validity.
腰痛（LBP）是一种极为常见的病症，影响着各个年龄段的人群。为了控制症状并预防复发和病情突然加重，建议将体育活动与自我管理教育相结合。在临床研究中，诸如日记和问卷等工具一直是追踪体育活动的金标准。然而，使用这些结果测量方法存在一致性、准确性和回忆方面的问题。鉴于当今社会科技的发展，消费级活动监测器已成为记录体育活动数据的一种常见且便捷的方法。
本研究的目的是在一项腰痛患者的临床试验中，测试佳明Vivofit 3活动追踪器在评估身体活动水平方面的可行性和收敛效度。
我们招募了17名患有非特异性腰痛的个体，他们由医疗保健专业人员转诊或通过社区广告自荐而来。参与者参加了一个为期12周的体育活动和自我管理项目。使用自我报告问卷和佳明活动追踪器评估体育活动。每周从佳明Connect在线平台提取活动追踪器数据（例如，步数、行走距离和强度分钟数）。每周使用移动应用程序评估疼痛和活动受限的结果。进行线性回归以评估人口统计学因素（即年龄、性别、疼痛程度）是否影响对活动监测器的依从率。我们还使用皮尔逊相关性来评估佳明活动追踪器与体育活动问卷的收敛效度。
在为期26周的研究中，活动监测器的平均每日依从率为70%（标准差31%）。在研究的前12周，使用REDCap进行的每周体育活动测量的平均回复率为91%（标准差17%）。没有一个假设变量或问卷是回复率的预测因素。
大多数参与者能够坚持佩戴追踪器，且未发现人口统计学因素是佩戴该设备依从性的预测因素。然而，改良的国际体力活动问卷简表（IPAQ-SF）与活动监测器之间的相关性较差，表明收敛效度存在问题。
