Study design
This study had a randomized controlled design and was conducted between March and October 2022 at the Department of Sport Medicine of Sichuan Province Orthopedic Hospital. The Sichuan Province Orthopedic Hospital is a prominent non-profit hospital located in Sichuan Province, China. It holds the distinction of being the Approved Hospital for supporting National Team Athletes designated by the Chinese Olympic Committee. All participants provided written informed consent proved by Department of Sport Medicine of Sichuan Province Orthopedic Hospital before the trial, and the rights of the participants were protected. Outcome measurements were performed at baseline and at the end of the six-week treatment. All participants were allocated to either (1) a group that completed home-based exercise with health education (Intervention group) or (2) a group that included only patient health education but no exercise (Control group). Participants in the intervention group attended 18 exercise sessions (3 sessions/week) for 6 weeks. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Sichuan Province Orthopedic Hospital (Ethics Approval No. KY2021-031-01) and registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2200056224, 01/02/2022).