Table 1

Criteria for the inclusion and exclusion of potential participants

InclusionExclusion

  • Age: 18–40 years.

  • Pain:

    • Experienced around and/or behind the patella.

    • Aggravated by one or more of the following activities: squatting, stair ambulation, jogging/running, hopping/jumping.

    • Lasting for ≥3 months.

    • That did not arise from trauma.

  • Worst pain levels ≥3/10 on a VAS (VAS-W) during the past 7 days.

  • Electronic informed consent.

  • Previous or current clinical diagnosis of serious pathology (eg, malignancy).

  • Previous or current other clinical diagnosis of specific knee conditions (eg, Osgood-Schlatter, Sinding-Larsson, patellar instability or dislocation, jumper’s knee, meniscal tears or ligament injury).

  • History of surgery (eg, ankle, knee, hip or lower back).

  • VAS-W, Visual Analogue Scale for Worst pain.