Feasibility and Convergent Validity of an Activity Tracker for Low Back Pain Within a Clinical Study: Cross-sectional Study.
Linda Xiaoqian Zhuo, Luciana Gazzi Macedo
PMID 33769301WHAT IT FOUND
Most patients with low back pain wore and synced a commercial activity tracker, but its step and distance data correlated poorly with self-reported activity questionnaires.
The device is feasible for tracking compliance but does not accurately measure activity levels compared to standard surveys.
Key findings
01Adherence to wearing and syncing the activity monitor was moderate, with a mean of 70% of days over 26 weeks, though individual compliance varied widely.
02The activity tracker showed poor convergent validity with the self-reported International Physical Activity Questionnaire, failing to reach the expected correlation threshold.
03Neither age, gender, nor baseline pain intensity predicted adherence to the activity monitor protocol in this small sample.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample size was very small (n=17), resulting in low statistical power to detect predictors of adherence or precise correlation estimates. Adherence data was highly skewed, with most participants being compliant and a few non-compliant, which limits the generalizability of the mean adherence rate. The study did not verify actual daily wear time, so participants could have synced data collected over short periods rather than all day. One participant lacked a smartphone and used a computer to sync, introducing a methodological inconsistency in how compliance was measured for that individual. The comparison between the activity tracker (daily averages) and the IPAQ-SF (weekly recall of average days) may have introduced measurement discrepancies due to differing time frames.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Funding details were not explicitly stated in the provided text beyond the declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that step counts or distance data from this type of commercial wrist tracker accurately reflect a patient's physical activity level as they perceive it. The study found poor correlation with self-reported measures, meaning the device tracks presence and basic movement but may not validly measure activity intensity or volume in a way that matches clinical questionnaires.