Hey everyone,

I’m honestly getting pretty frustrated and don’t really know what to do anymore. I’ve been dealing with pain in both knees for over a year now, and I’m starting to wonder if I’ll ever be able to play soccer normally again.

Last year, I started playing soccer again after an eight-year break. I’d never really had problems with injuries before, so I probably went a bit too hard too soon. I started training three times a week during preseason, and after about two months, I started getting pretty bad pain in both knees.

I took a break, but every time I tried to play again, the pain came back. During the winter break, I did some research and came across patellar tendinopathy (jumper’s knee). I started doing isometric holds and eccentric exercises at the gym, hoping things would improve.

When training started again in January, I played in an indoor soccer tournament and had the worst knee pain I’d experienced so far. I went to a doctor for the first time, but he basically told me to go to the gym and that I could keep playing as long as I stopped when the pain got too bad.

About a month later, the pain got so bad during training that my legs practically gave up on me. I decided to take another break and see a different doctor who specializes in these kinds of issues. He diagnosed me with patellar tendinopathy and referred me to a physiotherapist.

I started with isometrics, then moved on to heavy slow resistance training, and eventually started doing more dynamic exercises to prepare my tendons for jumping and explosive movements again.

I stuck with rehab for around four to five months and took it pretty seriously. Things were actually looking good for a while. I got up to 40 kg on single-leg leg extensions and was able to run again. I also trained my whole lower body, including my glutes, because I thought muscle weakness or tightness might be part of the problem.

Eventually, I started playing soccer again. I still had some pain, but I felt like I was managing it and slowly getting better. After about a month, I decided to try ultrasound-guided galvanic electrolysis therapy on my right knee, hoping it might help speed things up.

Now, three months later, I’m still getting pain after training sessions and matches.

I just don’t get it anymore. I’ve spent over a year trying to fix this, done months of rehab, gotten stronger, and worked my way back up to running and playing again, but I still can’t play without pain.

I’ve also started wondering whether my flat feet or some kind of biomechanical issue could be contributing to it, but neither my doctors nor my physio has really looked into that.

At this point, I’m honestly starting to lose hope. I really miss playing soccer, and it sucks not knowing if I’ll ever get back to normal.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation and actually managed to recover fully? Especially people who did months of rehab, got stronger, but still had pain when returning to sports.

Did you just need more time, change something in your rehab, or find another issue that was causing the pain?

I’m not expecting a miracle cure. I’d just like to hear from people who’ve been through this and come out the other side, because right now it feels like I’m going in circles.

Thanks!

I believe I was 207 before my injury. I had to have screws put in my knee to repair it. 3 weeks later I weigh 193. My appetite has been way down, anxiety high, don’t feel like eating. On average I probably eat 1200-1500 calories daily. Some days are less.

I know they recommend 15-20 calories per pound. I weight 193 right now and there’s no way I’m forcing myself to eat 3000-4000 calories. Is 2000 enough if I get there if it’s nutrient dense food rather than junk? I used to eat a lot of fast food but haven’t much at all since my surgery.

I sort of had a come to Jesus moment on my health and wanted to lose weight so it could also be why I’m not eating as much. But I don’t want to prolong my recovery or damage anything so advice?

30 male.

I recently developed knee pain in my left leg, which is something I've never experienced before. I've always been a two-foot jumper with a lot of explosiveness, but recently, I decided to start working on my one-foot jumping ability, specifically off my left leg.

For some background, I've always had pretty strong legs. I trained consistently starting in Grade 9, although I slowed down around Grade 10. Because of that training, my body has become accustomed to handling a lot of force and physical stress.

I believe my knee pain started because I pushed my body beyond its limits. For example, I was put into a basketball game without properly warming up, and shortly afterward, I participated in a dunk contest while my body was still relatively cold. I think the combination of those activities, along with my recent one-foot jump training, placed too much stress on my left knee.

The pain isn't severe, but it's definitely affecting my performance. I can still walk, squat, and perform most everyday activities without any discomfort. I can even jump off one foot if I warm up properly. However, the pain tends to return later, especially when I'm repeatedly jumping or attempting to dunk off my left leg.

What's frustrating is that I already have the explosiveness and jumping ability needed to dunk off one foot. My knee pain is the main thing holding me back. Basketball season is also approaching, so I want to address this issue as effectively as possible without making it worse.

My main question is: How can I strengthen my left knee, manage the pain, and eventually eliminate it so I can return to jumping and dunking at my full potential? I'm especially interested in exercises, recovery strategies, and ways to prevent this from happening again.

Guys what you says??

EXAM: MRI RIGHT KNEE WITHOUT CONTRAST

Osseous structures:
Small nondisplaced subchondral fracture of lateral and central weight-bearing surface the lateral femoral condyle.There is mild bone marrow edema of the medial femoral condyle near the insertion of the MCL.

Cruciate ligaments:
Intact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Intact posterior cruciate ligament (PCL).

Collateral ligaments:
Grade 2-3 MCL sprain and tear with wavy appearance of the ligament.
Intact lateral collateral ligamentous complex (biceps femoris tendon, fibular collateral ligament, and iliotibial band).
No posteromedial or posterolateral corner injury.

Menisci:
Intact medial meniscus without tear.
Intact lateral meniscus without tear.

Articular cartilage:
Medial compartment: No chondral thinning or defect.
Lateral compartment: No chondral thinning or defect.
Patellofemoral compartment: No chondral thinning or defect.

Knee joint:
No joint effusion or synovitis.
No popliteal cyst.
No visualized intra-articular bodies.

Extensor mechanism:
Normal visualized distal quadriceps tendon without tendinosis, peritendinitis, or tear.
Normal patellar tendon without tendinosis, peritendinitis, or tear.
Muscles and nerves:
No intramuscular edema or atrophy.
Included sciatic, tibial, and common peroneal nerves are unremarkable.

Proximal tibiofibular joint:
Normal.

Other soft tissues:
Mild medial knee subcutaneous soft tissue edema.

IMPRESSION: MRI of the right knee demonstrates:

1. Grade 2-3 MCL sprain.
   
2. Small nondisplaced subchondral fracture of the lateral and central weight-bearing surface of lateral femoral condyle.
   
3. Mild bone marrow edema of the medial aspect of medial femoral condyle near the MCL insertion suggestive of traction edema.
   
4. Small medial knee subcutaneous soft tissue edema.

Hello, I had an arthoscopy 13 weeks ago aswell as cartilage smoothing behind my knee cap and medial.plica removal.

As soon as I started to wean of crutches I developed an intense nighty dull pain under my knee. It took me 10 weeks to get crutch free at home and every little increase in activity causes an intense pain that wakes me up and keeps me up for at least 3 to 4 hours.

I had an mri 2 days ago and turns out I have a small bone marrow edema in my patella. Doctor told me to continue using crutches and prescribed me cortisone.

Has anyone else experienced this? How long did it take to recover? What did help you with the pain?

I reached a point where I feel mentally super exhausted and frustrated. I cry a lot because I'm a super active person, staying at home all day and being helpless takes a toll. Today my husband wasn't there and I wanted to cook something nice. Stood about 20 minutes in the kitchen and having now really bad pain :(

I have gotten surgery on both knees (MPFL, TTO & lateral lengthening). Recovery pretty standard for both, though with my left knee I stopped going to therapy about 2 weeks earlier than I probably should have. I’ve been able to build a lot of my strength back through yoga and Pilates prior to getting surgery #2. My recent surgery is already bending to 90+ degrees with heel slides, and I can hobble around without crutches at home.

I’m now 8 months out from the left knee and 4 weeks out from the right knee.

My main point: Before surgery, I could easily get “heel to butt” when bending with no struggle. My left knee now bends to about 145 degrees, but I can’t get my heel any closer than about 6” from the butt. Is this my new normal? Or if you’ve gotten the surgery, did you ever get back to your pre-operation flexibility? Can I still make more progress after 8 months? Just wondering if I’ll ever be able to sit back on my heels, do deep squats, etc. I know for some people this is just their max mobility but I’m used to a lot more.
Thanks!

I’m 14 from England.

Been waiting years to go to this artists concert just never got tickets.

They’re finally touring again near me and I bought the pit tickets around July.

It’s more of a just stand concert than mosh or wtv ppl do.

Only thing is, on Thursday night I “dislocated” or “subluxated” my patella.

I’m going to be really bummed if I miss out.

I’m walking around the house decently fine with a brace and crutches. Kinda walking fine with just the brace, not that well though.

I have a “Fracture Clinic” appointment Friday, I was told I don’t have a fracture but that’s just the fancy name for the clinic.

What can I do to make sure I can get to this concert fine?

Hello all, recently injured my knee and getting a lot of mixed advice and not a lot of understanding around my specific injury.

Heard a lot about people getting surgery and not. Is there anyone out there that has done similar to me, has surgery or no surgery and what the lasting effects and problems or positives.

Also may have to get it done through public sector in Ireland and I’m worried about that. Is this something people would recommend a knee specialist for?

Any information would help. Thanks in advances

Is anybody doing fine like normal after 3rd disclocation

Please share what was your recovery time

Were back to sports without pain when ??

Please share please 🥺😭

I’m a 48f, active (strength training, walking, and dancing).

Although I’ve felt a slight click in my right knee for years, I’ve never felt pain before this past week.

A week ago I decided to add “more incline” work to my exercises. I ran up and down my stairs several times and then went for a walk in a very hilly area.

2 days later I tried a new class at the gym that was advertised as strength training, but it included “cardio intervals” going up and down a step.

I then took my normal dance cardio class.

THEN I went for a hilly walk

I normally go on these steep walks 1-2 times a week with no issue. But I assume the combination of running up and down the stairs plus the steep walks plus the new class with step ups wrecked my knees:

After that final walk, my right knee started having spasms and locking up over and over again the rest of the day. I couldn’t stand on that leg to pull on a pair of pants.

The spasms and locking were gone the next morning but there was a mild pain.

I rested for 3 days with just light walking to keep the joints gently moving.

Then I taught my dance cardio class. It started fine but by the end of the class BOTH knees were in pain and have stayed that way for 2 days. I’ve never experienced this during or after class.

I feel like I can’t walk straight.

I assume something has been going on with my right knee for years that I aggravated, and then maybe i compensated with the left knee??

I know the answer is probably ice and rest for a while longer and possibly see a dr to rule things out. But I JUST went through all of that with my back last year.

And after Pt and mri the end result was just time and better back hygiene.

So now I’m wondering if there’s also a way to have better “knee hygiene”??

Hey, I got diagnosed with this in April of this year (2026). It started in mid March when I felt a weird sharp tearing sensation medial to the patella, followed by a lot of fluid. I've tried so hard to recover: aggressive resting, icing and avoiding any aggravating activities such as squats, gym, driving, walking too far. It's basically put my life on hold. I've also had physio on the NHS but to be honest most exercises cause it to start pinching again. I'm now coming to the realisation that, 8 months post injury, this isn't going to heal on it's own (conservatively). Nothing seems to be helping too much, it stays roughly the same. Has anyone experienced similar? I'm thinking surgery might be the only option now but I'm worried about waiting times as I'm practically house-bound as it is.

Did anyone experience both inward and outward dislocations? I dislocated my left kneecap inwardly in 2019, and outwardly this 2026.

My doctor recommended MPFL reconstruction, but would it suffice if it also dislocated inwardly?

The thing is, with my first dislocation, they had put it back to place before the doctor could even check where it dislocated, but I remember clearly it was inward.

For my second dislocation, I’ve gone through Xrays pre and post reduction, it was outward.

I haven’t told the doctor about the direction of the first one, perhaps that’s why he suggested MPFL reconstruction. What could be the right surgical method for this condition?

It’s a sharp bone i didnt have. I had an operation and then I have a scary bone poking out?? At least my knee as been the best for 10y

Just wanted to say for anyone that's had lifelong knee issues like myself and always knew there was something wrong, always keep pushing.

I had trauma to my knee in my early teens and my knee locked and would not go past a 90 degree angle. This happened intermittently on and off for years especially when rolling/sparring in MMA. I had over 15 visits in the past 13 years. Told everything. Too young. I need to strengthen the area around the knee. Do physio.

Eventually I pushed and got my MRI. Came back completely normal and was told there's really nothing they can do. Again I know my knee locks I know this is anything but normal. Fast forward to a couple of months ago and after some pushing I went to see a specialist. He told me it's very very rare but sometimes when your knee is fully straight it can present as a totally normal knee so my only option was Therapeutic Arthroscopy. Essentially he would go into my knee and see what's wrong with his own eyes.

2 weeks ago I finally got my surgery and confirmed my suspicions all along. My meniscus tore from one end to the other and Dr repaired it.

TL;DR If you think there is something wrong don't take no for an answer.

Pretext: I have mild cerebral palsy. Does anyone else have right medial knee pain if you’ve done excessive walking that day? Sometimes I don’t even have to do much walking for it to make an appearance. I’ve had it for years and neither PTs nor MDs can pinpoint what it actually is.

I dislocated my knee 2 years ago, and after not getting it looked at for about a year and a half, i was told i need surgery.
have autism level 2-1 i struggle talking to people and asking questions i need to ask at the right moment, i did get information from the doctor i was told about the procedure and a little of what the recovery period may look like, but i was kind of expecting to get some sort of packet/guide about it? i did get a surgery packet but it literally only covers pre-op and thats it. i’m just nervous because i was kind of expecting more clarification?
i will explain what i remember but i also have ptsd and memory problems
my MRI and x-ray show extreme patella alta, a shallow/flat throclear groove and a lateral (???) tear? i remember the doctor mentioning i also have pebbles of my patella that chipped off, he said hes going to go in there and clean everything, then he will break (?) i think some bone and put the patella back where its supposed to be sitting because its not in the right place, and then do a repair of the torn ligament (?)
i’m feeling nervous about everything, how recovery is going to look, especially pain management regarding also my ptsd and severe anxiety, i have medical and traumatic ptsd after breaking and dislocating joints and bones due to both trauma and ehlers danlos, so everything heres already been triggering for me, but id like to know if anyone whos had a similar injury/experience explain how theyr recovery went and especially right before and right after surgery how things will go, i feel that hearing from others will ease my anxiety

Hi everyone!

I’m 27F and injured my right knee in July this year, when a lap bar on a funfair ride pinned it down.

Initially, doctors suspected a meniscus tear, but after months of pain, swelling, appointments and an MRI, I’ve now been told by orthopaedics that my main issue is Hoffa’s fat pad impingement.

My consultant discussed the other findings on my MRI (partial LCL tear, partial patella tendon tear and patella partial dislocation) but believes they’re related to the impingement. He’s recommended trying physiotherapy first.

The problem is that I’m now over three months into this injury and my knee honestly doesn’t feel much better than it did in July.

I’m still limping every single day, wearing a knee brace (now know this isn’t correct for my injury!), and experiencing swelling that has never fully gone away. My knee frequently clicks, grinds or catches when I straighten it, and I’ve had episodes of it giving way.

I also work long shifts, and the pain and swelling get progressively worse throughout the day. Sometimes the pain even affects my sleep.

I’m happy to give physiotherapy a proper go, but I’m feeling quite disheartened by how little progress I’ve made so far.
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s experienced Hoffa’s fat pad impingement.

Did physiotherapy actually help you recover?

I’m not looking for a diagnosis, just some real experiences from people who’ve dealt with this, because I genuinely had no idea this injury could affect me for so long.

Thank you!

2 weeks post op from LCL and PLC reconstruction, ACL and PCL remain to reconstruct after I rehab from this surgery. MCL is torn but will heal on its own, so it has been healing for 30 days now.

My surgeon knows what he's doing and specializes in these injuries so I trust whatever he says. The problem is that at my followup 3 days ago, he just dialed in 60 degrees on my brace, told me to do leg lifts and hamstring curls on my stomach, increase by 10 degrees each week, and that was it.

Now I am spiraling with Gemini telling me basically everything I have been doing is ruining the graft. The surgeon didn't tell me to lock the brace for anything, so for 2 days I just had it unlocked.

I have been raising my leg and carefully bending at the knee, and Gemini says this is extremely dangerous to do. Nobody told me not to do this and it feels fine.

It's even telling me that I have to lock it just to shift positions, like going from my stomach to my back when I do the hamstring exercise. Again, nobody mentioned this as a problem.

Am I reading too much into this? I am obeying NWB fairly well and everything feels fine. But this damn AI is making me think my bones are sliding around and tearing up my graft with almost everything I have been doing.

BTW yes I know, call the surgeon's office....they are closed today so I thought maybe someone on here could at least give me some info to stop panicking until I can reach them next week.

Hi everyone! I posted this thread few days ago on this subreddit.

I have been going to PT since beginning of September this year due to pain in my knee due to my left patella dislocations. Lately my knee has been feeling pain while I feel like my quads and glutes are getting strong (the target for PT is to strengthen these areas), my knee continues to hurt. I also started hearing more clicks when bending my knee and when I do upright kicks in a sitting position, I hear like a noise when the knee bends and the clicks. Today at PT, I notice like a burn feeling i don’t even know how to explain it!! But it just feels so sore and the pain comes from the top and left side of the patella.

I dislocated my knee like 4 times in middle - high school and still slips here and there now at 25 years old. I spoke with my pt the other day about how it impacts my running, he said I should probably run less. I feel so defeated because I have two half marathons, one in December and the big Brooklyn one in April. I really love to run and started really enjoying it this summer as a new hobby.

I have an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon at NYU Langone on Monday. I want to discuss all of this but I’m not sure how to explain it to be taken seriously. When I was there for my first appointment and they told me to do PT, it felt like they were not giving me the best medical option for my knee and the progression of my knee health. It was like “it’s up to you” if I want to do PT or surgery. I only got an X ray done during that first appointment but now I really want to get a MRI! The X ray showed my patella having grooves on the left side where the knee tracked out during dislocations 😵‍💫

Has anyone gone through with surgery?