Participant enrollment
pain
RECRUITMENT
Initial recruitment involved 112 potential patients with a diagnosis of unilateral or bilateral PFP from the Department of Sport Medicine of Sichuan Province Orthopedic Hospital. PFP was diagnosed by an experienced physician. For participants with bilateral PFP, the affected side with worse pain intensity (assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale) was identified as the affected leg. Potential participants were then referred by clinicians and screened by a senior physiotherapist according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Finally, 38 male and female patients with PFP were recruited for this study.