Knees carry every step, squat and wave you catch, and they fail in predictable ways at predictable ages: patellofemoral pain in runners and teens, meniscus and ligament injuries in sport, tendinopathy in jumpers, and osteoarthritis later. The treatment that protects a knee at every one of those stages is the same thing: strength. Our job is diagnosing the problem accurately and building that strength without flaring it.
What we treat
- Patellofemoral pain (runner's knee). Pain around or behind the kneecap with stairs, hills and sitting. Managed with load adjustment plus hip and quad strengthening, with excellent evidence behind it.
- Meniscus injuries. Traumatic tears in athletes can catch and lock; degenerative tears in older knees are part of normal ageing and, per multiple trials, usually do no better with arthroscopy than with structured exercise. We will tell you honestly which kind yours is.
- Ligament injuries. MCL sprains rehab very well. ACL injuries get their own pathway on our ACL rehabilitation page, including the non-surgical option.
- Patellar and quad tendinopathy. Jumper's knee in volleyball, basketball and CrossFit athletes, managed with progressive tendon loading.
- Knee osteoarthritis. Exercise is the first-line treatment in every major guideline, ahead of scopes and alongside weight management. A properly dosed program reduces pain and can delay or avoid replacement. When a replacement is the right call, we handle the prehab and rehab.
When a knee needs more than rehab
A knee that locks solid, gives way repeatedly, swells immediately and hugely after injury, or follows high-energy trauma needs imaging and often a specialist opinion, and we refer these on. Physio also cannot regrow cartilage, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
Knee slowing you down?
Call the clinic. Accurate diagnosis first, then a plan matched to your sport, work and age.
Call (07) 5221 5254Is running bad for my knees?
No. Recreational runners show no higher rates of knee osteoarthritis than non-runners in the research, and running loads actually condition cartilage. The problems come from doing too much too soon, which is exactly what our running injuries page covers.
Do I need an MRI for knee pain?
Only for specific findings such as suspected ACL rupture, a locked knee or unexplained failure to improve. Degenerative meniscus findings appear on most MRIs over 45, painful or not.
Can I avoid a knee replacement?
Sometimes, or at least delay it years. Structured strengthening is the best-evidenced non-surgical treatment for knee osteoarthritis and is recommended before surgery in Australian orthopaedic guidelines.