Why do my knees hurt?
Most knee pain is about load rather than damage — the joint being asked for more than it’s currently conditioned to handle, often because the hip above or the ankle below aren’t contributing their share. Where it hurts, and when, narrows it down fast.
Knee pain, in plain terms
Knees get blamed for problems that start elsewhere. They sit between the hip and the ankle and absorb whatever those two don’t handle, which is why knee treatment that only addresses the knee has such a poor record.
Pick whichever of these sounds most like yours. The answer is different for each, and the fix follows the cause.
Find your version
Around the front, worse on stairs and squats
Patellofemoral pain — the most common knee complaint there is, and reliably responsive to strength work.
Only going down stairs, never up
An eccentric control problem. Very specific, very fixable.
It aches after sitting through a film
Sustained flexion loading the kneecap. Usually the same underlying issue as the front-of-knee pattern.
On the outside, especially when running
Often the iliotibial band region, and usually a hip strength story rather than a tight-band story.
Whichever version is yours, see a doctor first if
- The pain began after a fall, a crash, or a direct blow
- You have numbness, pins and needles, or weakness anywhere
- The area is hot, red, or swollen, or you have a fever
- The pain is worst at night and doesn’t ease in any position
- You have unexplained weight loss or a history of cancer
- The knee locks, gives way, or won’t fully straighten
- Rapid swelling after an injury, or a twist accompanied by a pop
These are uncommon, but they point to problems that movement work won’t touch and that get harder to treat the longer they wait.