Validation of the Pelvic Floor and Core Exercise Protocol in Indian Women with Chronic Non-specific Low Back Pain

Abstract

Introduction: In India and worldwide, literature on non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) manifests that women are frequently affected. This trend is alarming to physiotherapists, emphasizing that effective exercise programs need to come about. Objectives: In an attempt to minimize the recurrence of NSLBP, the present study evaluated the content validity and interrater reliability of a supervised exercise protocol targeting pelvic floor and core muscles, thereby proposing a valid and reliable protocol that can be applied in the clinical context. Materials and methods: The content validation process consists of two stages: development and expert judgment. The three-phase protocol, developed with thorough literature review, underwent assessment by nine experts who were medical practitioners and physiotherapists. They rated its relevance and ease of performance on a five-point Likert scale. Agreement levels, content validation index, and kappa values were then computed based on their inputs on the protocol. Results: All the exercises in the protocol had an Item Content Validity Index (I-CVI) of 0.8–1.00 for relevance and ease of performance factors, showing complete accordance among experts. The kappa values for the exercises were ranging from 0.53 (moderate agreement) to 0.77 (substantial agreement) for both factors through the three phases in the protocol. Conclusion: Excellent content validity and substantial interrater reliability were found for the chronic NSLBP protocol to be used in Indian women.