Anterior knee pain

In general, anterior knee pain (pain at the front of your knee) is the result of overusing the joint. Therefore, by allowing your knee the right amount of rest, whilst following the guidelines below and avoiding any activity that is worsening the pain, you can make a full recovery.

• Try to reduce any activity that is making your knee hurt more
• Identify any changes in your lifestyle that could have resulted in knee pain, both internally (e.g. have you gained weight?) or externally (e.g. have you started wearing new shoes?) If you do, try reversing the changes and see what effect it has on the pain
• Physiotherapy can be helpful and there are a variety of exercises you can do at home to stretch and strengthen the muscles in your legs. Stretch out the muscles in your legs.
• You can watch a video showing you the correct way to do this below. (click on You Tube symbol to watch in full screen) All stretches should be held for 30 seconds and while it’s important that the pain does not worsen while stretching, you should be able to feel a slight pull in your muscles
• Strengthen the various muscles in your legs by performing exercises such as squats and lunges. Again, it’s important to stop if the pain worsens, but the muscles should feel well-stretched
• As the pain improves, gradually re-introduce any normal day-to-day activities that you have been avoiding, returning to full activity once the pain has gone

Surgery is generally not a good treatment option for this condition.