The knee is one of the most vulnerable joints in the body; as a result knee injuries are very common. Knee pain can arise from a sudden injury or can progressively build up over a very long time. Either way, the key to successful treatment lies in accurate diagnosis and treatment based on the best available evidence.
If you have recently had a knee injury please visit our recent injury management page and follow the instructions. If you knee is swollen you should arrange an appointment to be assessed. It is important to establish exactly what is wrong with your knee in order to treat it correctly in the early stages, this is particularly important for knee injuries. If your knee is locking (where you can’t move it) or giving way (buckling underneath you) you will need to be assessed and may need an orthopaedic referral.
If your knee has started hurting for no reason it may be that local structures around you knee are weak or stiff causing an imbalance and pain. It is very common for remote areas to cause knee pain, for example dropped arches in your foot or weakness in your buttock muscles can create biomechanical problems that can lead to pain. These types of problems can be picked up on assessment and are often very easy to fix.