Knee Pain
Assessment & Treatment.

Knee pain when walking is often due to poor foot posture, weak hip muscles, or gait abnormalities. When your foot rolls inward excessively (overpronation) or your hip muscles don't stabilise the leg properly, the knee joint is forced to compensate — leading to overload, poor tracking and pain. A biomechanical assessment identifies these issues and provides a targeted treatment plan.

Usually no — most knee pain is biomechanical and diagnosed clinically through physical assessment, gait analysis and functional testing. Scans are typically only needed if there's suspected structural damage (ligament tear, fracture, significant cartilage injury) or if conservative treatment hasn't worked. Your podiatrist will advise if imaging is necessary.

Orthotics can significantly help if foot mechanics are the root cause. By correcting overpronation, improving arch support and realigning the lower limb, custom orthotics reduce the abnormal forces travelling up to the knee. However, orthotics work best when combined with strengthening and gait retraining — it's rarely one solution alone.

Not always. Clicking or popping can be normal if it's painless and consistent. However, new clicking, painful clicking, or clicking with swelling may indicate tracking issues, cartilage irritation or meniscus problems. A biomechanical assessment can determine whether the clicking is a concern.

Not necessarily — we guide you on what's safe. Complete rest is rarely the best answer. Controlled, progressive loading helps tissues heal stronger and prevents long-term weakness. We'll show you how to modify your activity, strengthen the right muscles and gradually return to full training without making your knee pain worse.

Most patients notice a difference within a few weeks of starting the correct strengthening and biomechanical plan. Full recovery typically takes 8–12 weeks depending on the cause, severity, how long you've had knee pain, your activity levels and adherence to exercises. Our job is to give you the quickest, safest and most effective pathway to recovery.

Yes, absolutely. Flat feet often lead to overpronation (excessive inward rolling of the foot), which causes internal rotation of the shin bone and affects how the kneecap tracks. This creates abnormal stress on the knee joint and can lead to patellofemoral pain, ITB syndrome, or general knee overload. Addressing foot posture with orthotics and gait retraining often resolves knee pain.

PFPS, also called runner's knee, is pain around or behind the kneecap caused by poor tracking of the patella in its groove. It's usually related to weak hips, tight muscles, overpronation or training errors. PFPS responds very well to biomechanical treatment including strengthening, gait retraining and orthotics if needed.

Stair climbing increases the load on your kneecap significantly — up to 3–4 times your body weight. If you have weak quads, poor kneecap tracking, or biomechanical issues, stairs will aggravate the pain. Strengthening the quads and glutes, improving foot mechanics and addressing gait patterns usually helps dramatically.

Yes — weak hip and glute muscles are one of the most common causes of knee pain. When your hip muscles don't control the leg properly, the knee collapses inward during movement (dynamic valgus), causing poor alignment and overload. Hip strengthening is a core part of effective knee pain treatment.

Our clinic is in Arnold, Nottingham. We see patients from across Nottinghamshire including Gedling, Carlton, Mapperley, Woodthorpe, Ravenshead, Hucknall, Daybrook, Bestwood, Calverton, Lambley, Burton Joyce, West Bridgford, Beeston, Bingham, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Mansfield, Newark, Retford, Worksop and surrounding areas.

We are recognised as one of the leading podiatry and sports injury clinics in the UK for biomechanics and knee pain treatment. Our podiatrists combine advanced gait analysis, podoscope assessment, hip and glute testing and evidence-based treatment planning to diagnose the root cause of pain and improve long-term performance. We treat knee pain every single day — from runners to office workers, retail staff to gym-goers — and our patients consistently tell us we helped them when other treatments failed.