At Cohen Health and Performance, we recently worked with an athlete who came to us months after injuring his knee during a workout at the gym. After seeing his doctor, he was told there was nothing structurally wrong—no damage on imaging, no major red flags. The advice? Take a couple of weeks off and slowly return to exercise.
Fast forward several months, and he was still modifying workouts and struggling with lingering pain and frustration.
Sound familiar?
This scenario is incredibly common—especially among active individuals dealing with chronic knee pain. Whether you’re a weekend warrior, a gym enthusiast, or a competitive athlete, you may have been told to rest, stretch, or foam roll your way out of pain. And yet, the discomfort persists.
Why Traditional Approaches Often Fall Short
Most general advice focuses on reducing symptoms—not solving the root cause. Many rehab programs stop as soon as pain decreases or when daily activities become tolerable again. But for those who want to lift heavy, sprint, or change direction on the field, this simply isn’t enough.
Effective knee pain physical therapy needs to go beyond the basics. It should train your knees to handle the specific stresses of your sport or activity.
For example, sports that involve cutting and multidirectional movement place your knees in angled, high-force positions. If your rehab never prepares you for those forces—if your shin is never loaded at those angles during training—you’re setting yourself up for continued breakdown.
The Importance of Load-Specific Training
To truly recover and thrive, the tendons and muscles around the knee—especially the patellar tendon and quad tendon—must be reconditioned to tolerate the demands of real movement. Whether you’re jumping, landing, or squatting under load, your knees must be gradually exposed to the stresses they’ll face in the real world.
That’s why our rehab process includes drills and exercises tailored to your goals. Below is an example from our specialist, Dr. Cat, demonstrating exercises that teach the knee how to absorb and produce force under real-world conditions.
By gradually increasing load and focusing on the angles and demands of your sport, we prepare the knee—and the entire lower body—to handle life beyond the treatment table.
Don’t Let Knee Pain Linger
If you’ve been dealing with chronic knee issues, tried resting, icing, stretching, or following online exercise videos with no real progress, it’s time to dig deeper. At Cohen Health and Performance, we take a comprehensive look at your movement patterns, strength, mobility, and sport-specific demands to uncover why your knee pain persists—and how to fix it for good.
We don’t just want to help you feel better.
We want to get you back to training, competing, and living life without limitations.
Ready to Get to the Root of Your Knee Pain?
Contact us today to schedule a comprehensive evaluation and find out how physical therapy for knee pain can help you move better, feel stronger, and finally leave knee pain behind.
