Recovery plan

Patellofemoral Pain

Learn what patellofemoral pain feels like, why it develops with stairs, squats and running, and how exercise-based care helps most people.

Read the full injury guide Knee recovery

A usable progression

Move forward when the current stage is tolerable.

This is a general education framework, not a personal prescription. The injury, treatment, symptoms, and demands of your activity can all change the pace.

Settle

Goal: Protect the area and reduce the most provocative load.
Do: Use comfortable daily movement where appropriate and follow any protection or restrictions from your clinician.
Avoid: Avoid repeatedly testing sharp pain, forcing range, or returning to demanding activity because symptoms briefly improve.
Progress when: Daily tasks are becoming easier and symptoms are not escalating after ordinary activity.

Restore

Goal: Rebuild comfortable movement and basic function.
Do: Work through the exercises and mobility guidance linked below, starting with a tolerable range and dose.
Avoid: Avoid adding several new exercises, heavier loads, or longer sessions at the same time.
Progress when: Movement is more comfortable, swelling or irritability is settling, and basic use is improving.

Strengthen

Goal: Build capacity for the loads your work, training, or sport requires.
Do: Progress resistance, repetitions, range, or time gradually—one meaningful change at a time.
Avoid: Avoid using pain-free rest alone as proof that the tissue is ready for full demand.
Progress when: The area tolerates progressively harder sessions without a marked next-day flare.

Return

Goal: Reintroduce the specific activity with control and confidence.
Do: Start with a reduced version of the task, then build duration, load, speed, and complexity separately.
Avoid: Avoid jumping from rehabilitation exercises straight to full training, competition, or heavy work.
Progress when: You can repeat the demands of your activity with stable symptoms, useful strength, and no loss of function.

Rehabilitation Guides

Rehabilitation · IA-KNE-REH-001

General Knee Loading Principles

Learn how to adjust knee range, load and exercise volume, judge your symptom response, and know when knee pain needs an assessment.

Read guide →

Exercises

Exercises · IA-KNE-EXE-001

Sit-to-Stand

Learn how to use chair height, control and gradual progression to make the sit-to-stand a practical knee-strengthening exercise.

Read guide →Exercises · IA-KNE-EXE-002

Wall-Sit Isometric

Learn how to adjust wall-sit depth, hold time and effort for controlled knee loading without forcing a painful position.

Read guide →Exercises · IA-KNE-EXE-003

Low Step-Up

Learn how to use a low step to rebuild knee and hip strength with adjustable height, support and repetition range.

Read guide →Exercises · IA-KNE-EXE-005

Single-Leg Balance

Learn the single-leg balance exercise to improve knee and ankle stability, with progressions from stable surfaces to eyes-closed balance.

Read guide →Exercises · IA-KNE-EXE-006

Step-Down

Learn the step-down exercise — controlled lowering from a step to build single-leg strength and knee control, with progressions and safety notes.

Read guide →Exercises · IA-KNE-EXE-007

Terminal Knee Extension

Learn the terminal knee extension — a simple quadriceps exercise that improves the last part of knee straightening, with progressions and safety notes.

Read guide →

Mobility & Stretching

Stretches · IA-KNE-STR-005

Quadriceps Stretch

Learn a safe standing quadriceps stretch, with support options, hold times and when to avoid it — including after knee surgery.

Read guide →

Recovery guidance needs context.

These resources provide general education, not a diagnosis or personalised treatment plan. A recent major injury, deformity, substantial weakness, worsening neurological symptoms or inability to use the affected area should be assessed.