Study population
LE musculoskeletal PASC, knee amputation, numbness, pain, infection, atrophy, LE musculoskeletal symptoms, depression, Depression
MAY, ATROPHY, INFECTION, WOUND INFECTION
A double‐blinded randomized controlled trial of individuals experiencing persistent LE musculoskeletal PASC was conducted. Participants were recruited from the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) Post‐COVID‐19 Care Clinic (Houston, TX, USA) between November 2021 and May 2022. All participants signed an informed consent approved by the local Institutional Review Board (IRB #H‐47781) before study enrollment. The study was registered on Participants were included if they were previously hospitalized due to acute COVID‐19 infection, aged 18–85 years old, diagnosed with PASC by a pulmonologist and critical care clinician (F.S., D.M), and reported persistent LE musculoskeletal symptoms such as atrophy, weakness, numbness, and/or pain at their first consultation. Those who had demand‐type cardiac pacemaker, implanted defibrillator, active wound infection, or below the knee amputation were excluded.Demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded from the electronic medical records. Other baseline assessments included depression by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES‐D) (Weissman et al., 