This study investigated the comparative effects of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching and core strength exercises on static balance in adolescents with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS).

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants were between 16 and 18 years old.
• Patients had to have experienced anterior knee pain for at least 4 weeks, with the pain being exacerbated by at least two of the following activities: jumping, running, prolonged sitting, stair climbing, kneeling, and squatting (Chevidikunnan et al., 2016).
• Participants could not have undergone any surgical procedures on their lower limbs.
• Pain during the previous week needed to be greater than 30 mm on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS) (Appendix I) (Rathleff et al., 2015).
• A spectrum of BMI was sought, with participants recruited to represent normal BMI percentile categories for both boys and girls. The normal BMI percentile categories for both boys and girls were defined as the 5th percentile to less than the 85th percentile (Appendix II) (King et al., 2012).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Adolescents with cruciate ligament injuries, meniscal injuries, collateral ligament injuries, and tenderness associated with any of these structures, any intra-articular injury, and tenderness over the iliotibial band, patellar tendon, pes anserine tendons, or evidence of joint effusion.

  • Adolescents with referred pain from the hip or lumbar region, or a known case of articular cartilage damage.

data availability by requesting from the corresponding author and after publication

after 12 months from November 2024