My daughter 3.5 started limping June 11th 2026 at first without pain and inconsistently and as the days passed it got worse and painful and then stopped but it continues to come and go sometimes causing her to be unable to walk and have to crawl instead, she’s also fallen multiple times from being unable to hold herself up. I’ve taken her to multiple doctors and I’ve gotten “growing pains” “tendonitis” “septic arthritis” and “transient synovitus” but none of the doctors are really sure because her x rays have come up clear although everytime she has gone it was with Motrin/tylenol in her system which would decrease swelling atleast that’s what one of the doctors told me may be the problem but I have no idea what to do. My daughter has a speech delay so she can’t really tell me the details of what she’s going through. If anyone has went through something similar with their child please help me.

Been thinking about knee support a lot lately and wanted to hear from people who actually train and move.

It feels like there are two pretty different camps:
Some people love knee sleeves, patellar straps, or braces because it gives them more confidence under load or during runs. They feel more stable and less hesitant.

Others say external support just hides the real issue, and the real work should be about building strength, improving mobility, and cleaning up movement patterns. They worry that relying on a brace can make the knee weaker over time.
Honestly, I think both sides make sense. A brace or sleeve can be helpful in certain situations, but it shouldn't replace actually building stronger, more resilient knees.
At the same time, everyone's situation is different. Someone doing heavy squats, someone logging long miles, someone coming back from an old injury, or just someone trying to stay active – they probably all need different things.
So I'm curious:
· Do you personally use any kind of knee support?
· Do you think braces/sleeves actually help, or just cover up the problem?
· Should they be something you rely on regularly, or something to avoid?
· Would you ever try a "smarter" knee support that adapts to your movement, or do you prefer keeping it simple?

Not looking for medical advice – just want to hear personal experiences and what has or hasn't worked for you.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

28F, 51kg.

Did my ACL+LET surgery mid February. Completed 6 months.

Current lifting weights:
Deadlift - 75kg
Barbell Backsquat - 65kg
Leg extension - single leg - 10kg 15 reps, 15kg possible
Leg curls - single leg - 15-20 kg
Chest press - 12.5kg dumbells
Dumbell row - 15kg dumbells
Bicep curls - 10kg dumbells

Physiotherapy is too expensive so I refer my own youtube and medical papers on progress rate and next step. I make my own weekly chart on what to each week. There is a new chart every week.

Can do jumps now. Double and single. Have been running for a while too. Max speed till
Now is 6 noted in strava app..

Proud of myself
For all the effort and work I did not being able to afford rehab PT.
Hows this growth?

Hello everyone, just like many in this community, I also have a knee issue—specifically 2nd-degree chondromalacia patellae. Today I spoke with my friend, and she has the exact same symptoms. We are almost the same age, and two of my other friends have the same condition as well. My goodness, this is a disaster! It feels like 3 out of every 10 people have knee pain, and now I finally understand why.

We worked out way too hard with sports. All of us were doing squats, going up and down stairs, and performing so many knee-straining exercises just to build a bigger glute/butt area. And you know what? We all did this. We are all around 33, 34, and 35 years old. Guys, we really need to teach children from a young age that forcing their bodies with these extreme glute and leg workouts is dangerous.

My grandmother and my neighbors are in their 80s and 90s, and they still don't complain about knee pain. I asked them, and they said they only walked to distant fields. They didn't run except when playing as children, and they certainly didn't do all these glute workouts. Please, let's teach this to future generations!

Hi! Looking for some advice because I’m not sure what’s going on with my leg.
For context, I haven’t exercised or done any unusually long walks recently. I’m 164 cm and 44 kg, so I’m quite underweight.
Two nights ago, I started getting sharp/stinging pains around my knee, more specifically, a few centimeters above it, around the very bottom of my thigh. I had been home all day working.
Yesterday, I went out but only walked a little. Today, I woke up with much more noticeable pain, and the sharp/stinging sensation has gotten significantly worse. It hurts when I walk and when I’m lying down or sitting down it's becoming very annoying.
There’s no visible swelling or redness
I’m supposed to leave for a long trip tomorrow that will involve a lot of walking, so I’m getting very worried..

Hi redditer friends. I seek your reference of Good orthopedic physician for my knee pain in one of the leg suffering from many years. The knee was short impact in childhood.

The pain some times get settled automatically and raise again.

Pls share any experience if any body has.

So I had a partial meniscectomy in 2008-09. My current symptoms started with a pop during a deep squat two years ago.

Then there was gradually increasing pain/pressure in the back of the knee (popliteal region), worse with bending and pressure.

I have posterior joint line pain with loading and deep flexion

There is no numbness, tingling, or other neuro symptoms with compression.

Basically if I try to fully close the knee it's breathtakingly painful. Anything past 90 degrees feels like it's going to explode out the back and I think if I was in a situation where it was forced closed I'd probably pass out or scream. However, having it straight and walking are fine. Going down stairs is hard sometimes.

What I've had done so far:

MRI read as normal, aside from some plica thickening (which doesn't match the location of the current pain. That's more anterior/anteromedial and tied to an old issue).

Three courses of PT with no improvement.

First ortho opinion: declined to treat, said posterior knee is outside his scope

Second ortho opinion: same. He said he doesn't treat back-of-knee issues, called the MRI "normal"

Now referred to vascular surgery to rule out things like popliteal artery entrapment, Baker's cyst, popliteal aneurysm, or venous compression

What I'm trying to figure out: Whether a root tear or ramp lesion of the meniscus could be getting missed on standard MRI (both have poor MRI sensitivity), given the mechanism, the location of my pain, and my prior meniscus surgery.

I'm desperate. It's so hard to sit down on the floor, get in a car, and put on pants. It's getting ridiculous. I've stayed off it for months, stretched, massaged, walked extensively. Tried everything under the sun which is why I feel it has to be a tear. I just don't know.

Anyone have severe -full thickness cartilage loss at age 56? Woke up a year ago with pain and could not walk. Had cortisone shot and I felt good for a whole year. Started working out ((low key, peloton and various safe stuff for legs. One day after bike ride I went to stretch my hip (figure 4) and felt a searing lateral pain at my knee and it band. I could not walk and pain felt so bad. Mri just showed the same thing as last year. Had recent cortisone shot and better able to walk, but still aches. Maci was not discussed because of my age I guess. PRP and gel shots were discussed and will probably do this while seeking out second opinions. Few questions:
1.) anyone out there at my age got Maci or oats procedure?
2.) other then gaping to help knee what knee brace you’ve you used that wasn’t so cumbersome and allowed you to work out and walk?
3.) did gel shots help you out off partial knee replacement?
4.) I have lost a lot of quad muscle because it’s difficult to activate it as extension aggravates it. Any suggestions other than straight leg lifts to help get these muscle to fire?

So when I say my knee hurts its not the bone but the muscles around it like on the knee cap or something.

It hurts when I sit cross legged or in vagrasan or simply sit by bending my knees .

It hurts like stretching pain plus some sharp pain ,the pain isn't too serious but it prevents me from sitting cross legged or even doing squats

Importantly, I have gone to the doctor and they say that the muscles near knee are lessened or something and also gave me some rehab type exercises to do but even if I do those it just feels good for some time and still comes right back.

So if anyone knows what this is please tell me I would really appreciate it

One thing I’ve noticed from reading posts here is that getting back to normal seems to be about more than just whether your knee feels physically better.

A lot of people seem to reach a point where they can walk, train, use stairs, or return to certain activities — but still hesitate because they don’t fully trust the knee yet.

And honestly, that mental side seems like it can stick around for a while.

So I’m curious about people who’ve been through it:

What was the moment that made you finally start trusting your knee again?

Was it getting through a workout without constantly thinking about it? Going downstairs normally? Running again? Or did that confidence just come back gradually over time?

And for anyone still dealing with it — what movement do you still hesitate to do?

Would love to hear people’s experiences.

I was injured at work and broke my knee. Had a number of witnesses when the event occurred. Ended up being rushed to ER and had surgery. Company tried to tell me to file it as a non workman's comp event. Anyhoo... fast forward they asked me to work from my hospital
Bed, while I was in recovery and barely had anytime to recoup. I finally had to tell them I'm getting a very small compensation via WC and I need to focus on recovery. since I'm considered highly compensatedW they agreed to make up the difference in pay to make myself available. FF- I've been doing rehab but likely will never be 100%. Every night I go to bed with a swollen k we and a lot of pain and I'm sure they will ask me to start coming back to work.

Surgeon wants to go in to remove the hardware as he thinks that Will help with rehab and pain.

The case worker only cares about when Will
I get to MMI.

What are my legal options - both with my company and what should I push for with my WC insurer? I've never dealt with this and I have no idea if I will have to live with this disability with no legal recourse.

Appreciate kind advice please

This is one of those questions where there really isn't a useful universal deadline.

Many patients start practising stairs with support quite early in rehabilitation. But being able to use stairs and having stairs feel comfortable and natural again are two different milestones.

Going upstairs requires strength. Coming downstairs can often feel harder because it requires good control of the muscles around the knee.

Early on, many people use a handrail and take one step at a time. As strength, balance, movement and confidence improve, stairs gradually become easier.

The important thing is not to compare your week three with somebody else's week three. Look at whether your own mobility and confidence are gradually improving.

For those who've had a knee replacement: was going up or coming down stairs harder for you?

Curious for those that have had an osteochondral allograft transplant, how long did it take to find a graft from the time surgeon sent the order?

If your knee feels relatively okay during the day but starts aching or becoming stiff when you’re trying to sleep you’re definitely not alone.

Night-time knee pain can happen for several reasons and it doesn’t automatically mean you need surgery.

Some common possibilities include:

1. Knee osteoarthritis
This is a common cause especially if you also have stiffness, swelling, pain while climbing stairs or discomfort after sitting for a long time.

2. An old meniscus or ligament injury
Past knee injuries can sometimes continue causing pain long after the initial injury. Clicking, locking or the knee feeling unstable can also occur.

3. Overuse or tendinitis
If you’ve been running, exercising, standing for long periods or suddenly increased your physical activity the knee may hurt more later in the day or at night.

4. Bursitis
Inflammation around the knee can cause tenderness, swelling and pain with certain movements.

5. Inflammatory conditions
Conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout can also affect the knee and cause episodes of pain or swelling.

When should you actually get it checked?

Consider seeing an orthopaedic doctor if:

• The pain regularly wakes you up
• It keeps coming back
• Your knee stays swollen
• Walking or climbing stairs is becoming difficult
• Your knee locks or gives way
• You cannot fully bend or straighten it
• The pain started after a significant injury

If your knee suddenly becomes very swollen, red or hot, you have a fever or you cannot put weight on the leg it’s better to seek medical attention promptly.

Does knee pain at night mean knee replacement?

No.

There are many causes of night-time knee pain and many can be managed without surgery.

Depending on the actual problem treatment may include activity modification, physiotherapy, strengthening, weight management, medication or other non-surgical options.

Knee replacement is generally considered in advanced arthritis when pain and loss of function are significantly affecting everyday life despite appropriate non-surgical treatment.

The main takeaway is: don’t judge the condition only by how severe the pain feels. Find out what is causing it.

Persistent night pain especially when combined with swelling, stiffness or difficulty walking is worth getting evaluated rather than repeatedly ignoring it.

Educational information only. An examination is needed to diagnose the actual cause of knee pain.

— Dr. Utsav Agrawal
Orthopaedic & Joint Replacement Surgeon
Varunam Super Speciality Hospital, Nagpur

Hi all! I'm dealing with knee pain in my left leg for like a good year now. The interesting part is that this pain occurs only in some specific positions.

• One, is when there is a slight bend in my knee (like 10-30 degrees or so) and my weight (or more) is only on this one leg. This could be a single leg RDL, or a Peterson step up, or a single leg jump, or landing on one foot, or chaning direction, or when planting my foot next to a football (soccer ball) to kick it, etc. The level of pain depends on the intensity of the task and the distribution of my weight.
• The second type is the leg extension machine. I can't straighten my knee if my hip is flexed. There is a point in the 10-30 degrees range where my knee is blocked. It varies exactly as my hip is flexed. If it's fully extended (my leg is completely beneath me) then there is no problem to fully straighten my knee. With external help my knee can go beyond this blockage.

In every other exercises there is no problem. Like with fully straightened knee (kicking a football with my injured leg), or a deeper knee bend (e.g. Bulgarian split squat), or doing bilateral exercises (e.g. deep squats; it's like my body found a way to get around the injury and use muscles in a non-painful, assymetrical way).

The good news is that I hope I got the correct diagnosis recently. It's in the title which was diagnosed by an ortopedic doctor based on MRI scans (so not a home-diagnosis of me). The malfunctioning of my vmo happens in this slight bend range, so not when my knee is fully straightened. It also seems like I lost some muscle mass in my vmo compared to my healthy leg.

Now comes my question. The orthopedic doctor advised proprioceptive training for my vmo. I tried it like 3 or 4 times before workouts and it's absolutely incredible. There is nothing I ever did that was this effective for my knee pain. I did some balance drills on a bosu ball (also with closed eyes when I felt stable enough), and my vmo fired perfectly and so my knee pain went away.

The bad news is that it's only a short term solution, at least for now. After like an hour or so (I haven't measured it exactly yet) my ability to use my vmo goes back to "normal" (described above) and also my knee pain as well. My question is, have you ever experienced something similar? Can this proprioceptive training be a long term solution for my vmo and knee pain, or I'm just overly optimistic now?

p.s. English is not my first language. If my writing feels painful, then I'm sorry for that.