How to Fix Patellar Tendonitis: Exercises for Pain Below the Knee Cap

Pain below knee cap?

It could be due to a painful knee condition known as patellar tendonitis. Patellar tendonitis pain is very common among young athletes, where the sufferer complains of pain at the bottom of the kneecap. It is an overuse syndrome typically occurring among athletes who participate in sports requiring jumping.

But with a few simple stretching and strengthening exercises, we can manage it. This article is all about patellar tendonitis and its exercises.

So if you, too, are uncomfortable with pain below the knee cap or patella, then read this article till the end.

What is patellar tendonitis? What causes it?

Before moving on, let’s try to find out what actually is patellar tendonitis. Patellar tendonitis (PT) is characterised by well-localised anterior knee pain along the patellar tendon distribution. The pain is often exacerbated by moving from sitting to standing or walking uphill¹.

1. Patellar tendonitis is commonly seen in young sports personalities who engage in activities of jumping or running.
2. High intensity activities, such as volleyball, basketball players, and mountaineers who engage in mountaineering, they have more risk of developing patellar tendonitis.
3. That is why it is also called jumper’s knee because it is seen more in jumpers.

Our knee has a knee cap or patella bone on the front, a tendon that originates from the lower end of the patella and inserts into the upper part of the shin bone. This is why this tendon is called the patellar tendon.

So, whenever someone is doing regular jumping and running activities, this tendon is subjected to excessive stress.

With time, swelling and inflammation start to develop in the tendon, and it becomes painful on sitting to standing, jumping, and running. We call this condition patellar tendonitis.

This is different from knee bursitis, where the fluid-filled sac around the joint becomes inflamed rather than the tendon itself — the exercises and management differ slightly between the two.

The Best Stretching Exercises for Patellar Tendonitis

The first exercise we are going to learn is the stretching exercise. In addition to exercises, I also suggest you regularly use a patella support brace, about which we will learn more at the end of the post.

Patellar tendonitis cases usually have tightness of the quadriceps and hamstring muscles. Quadriceps muscles lie in front of our thigh, and hamstring muscles lie in the back of the thigh become tight. So stretching these two muscles is very important.

How to Stretch Tight Hamstrings

So, first, let me tell you how we can stretch our hamstring muscles.

1. For this, we need to sit in a long sitting position. Suppose you have a problem with the left knee. Keep this knee straight and bend the other knee.
2. In this position, try to keep your lower back as straight as possible.
3. Then slowly bend yourself forward a little. Bend it to a point where you will elicit a nice stretching behind the thigh on your hamstring.
4. Note that you don’t have to bend at the upper back; just keep the lumbar region straight, and then bend forward.
5. Hold this position for a minimum of thirty seconds or half a minute.
6. Bend as much as you can to have good stretching, and after holding this position for 30 seconds, come to relax.
7. In a single session, repeat this stretching up to three times.
8. To make this exercise more effective, bend the ankle a little bit towards yourself; by doing this, you will have better stretching.

Quadriceps Stretch (Lying on Your Stomach)

Next is quadriceps stretching exercises. We can do this exercise in two ways: One, we can do it in a lying position, and the second is standing. So, let me first cover the exercise in the lying position.

1. For that, I will use a resistance band; you can use either a bed sheet or a towel.
2. I find it easier to use a resistance band, and I make a loop on one side of it, wrap it around your legs and hold the other end with your hand.
3. Then, lie on your tummy and bend the knees in question as in the figure.
4. Now pull the band towards yourself to create a stretch on the thigh muscle.
5. Keep stretching it to the point where I have a nice stretch feel on the quadriceps muscles.
6. Once you have a comfortable stretch, hold that position for 30 seconds.
7. Do at least 3 times in a single session. You can do two to three sessions a day.

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Standing Quadriceps Stretch

We can do quadriceps stretching in a standing position as well.

1. For this, stand normally. Then bend the knee, and hold your legs behind yourself as in the figure. Make sure to stand as straight as possible. If you are stumbling, grab something firmly.
2. In this starting position with this hand, bend your knees, and press towards your buttocks. Try to keep your hip full straight, and avoid any slouching or bending. Look at the image carefully. I have not bent the hip; I have a perfectly straight hip.
3. Then pull your heel towards your buttocks with your hands. So you’ll get a nice stretch in front of the thigh.
4. You should also hold it for a minimum of 30 seconds.
5. Do it thrice in a single session, two to three times a day.

Patellar Tendonitis Strengthening Routine

Straight Leg Raises (For Quadriceps)

The next exercise of pain below the knee cap is the strengthening exercise. It goes like this: You have to strengthen the muscles around your leg. So first of all, let me explain the quadriceps strengthening exercise. For this:

1. Lie down flat and bend the other knee as in the figure.
2. Then raise the leg that has pain to bring it to a level equal to the opposite thigh.
3. Hold this raised position for five seconds, then lower it. Relax…Again, raise your leg and hold it for 5 seconds after bringing it equal level.
4. In this way, you do it at least 10 to 15 times in a session.

Wall Sit or Semi-Squat Hold

Quadriceps strengthening exercises for patellar tendonitis can also be done in a standing position. It is very effective for your patellar tendonitis pain. For this, you will stand in a normal position, and then you will be doing a semi-squat.

Follow these steps:

1. First, you need to keep apart two feet at a normal distance.
2. In this position, bend yourself on the affected side. In other words, we have to semi-squat, i.e midway through the full squatting. Also, notice the figure with a side view of how the subject is in a semi-squatting position.
3. Now, hold this for 5 seconds, the best way is to count 1 2 3 4 5, then come to standing.
4. Similarly, you have to repeat it at least 10 to 15 times in a session. You will bend your knees as much as you can and then stand up.
5. You should do this two to three times a day. It’s a very effective exercise.

Also read: 9 Easy Knee cap fracture exercise & physiotherapy protocol

Side-Lying Leg Lifts (Hip Abduction)

After that, to strengthen the muscles on the outer sides of the thigh, you need to come to a side-lying position.

1. Lie down in the sidelying position. It will be much better if you place a pillow below the neck. Bend your bottom lying leg as shown in the figure while keeping the overlying leg straight.
2. Now, lift the upper leg straight without bending the knee.
3. Have to lift it up to 30 degrees.
4. Hold it for 5 seconds, then drop it down.
5. In a single session repeat it 10 to 15 times and do it for two to three sessions in a day for a good result.

In this position, we can now do one more exercise with a slight tweak in the posture. Here, we need to keep both legs in a bending position. Look at the hips, it is bent in a forward direction, also, the knee is bent with the feet together.

Now, in this position, raise your knee without the feet being separated. Hold it for 5 seconds, then release it. Continue with the exercises 10 to 15 times in a single session. Twice daily is recommended.

Prone Hamstring Curls

After this, we have hamstring strengthening exercise, i.e. the muscles on the back thigh. To strengthen it:

1. Lie down on your tummy and bend one knee at 90 degrees,
2. In this knee-bending position, lift your thigh off the floor.
3. Lift it and hold it for 5 seconds, and then lower it down.
4. Then again, raise it and hold it for 5 seconds, then lower it. Similarly, we have to repeat it at least 10 to 15 times in a single session.

Other useful home tips

During the initial period when you have severe pain, I would suggest you apply a good pain ointment on the painful spot twice daily. To make it more effective, you can apply a hot pack over it after ten minutes of application of the ointment.

Once the severe pain reduces (you can use ice pack), you can go with the exercises. If you’d like a printable version of general knee-strengthening exercises to keep handy at home or share with a family member, our Knee Pain Exercise Chart PDF is a useful supplementary reference.

When you have patellar tendonitis, giving good support to the patella when walking or doing a daily routine can greatly improve the pain. This can be achieved by using a patella support brace; just wear it when you are at work.

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Young sports personality also has a higher risk of having ligament injury around the knees in which anterior cruciate ligament injury is very common. Other ligaments are also at risk of injury, like a meniscus injury. Recovery time for these ligament injuries depends on severity; see our guide to ligament tear healing time by grade. For this, I have explained the exercises in a video, please watch it here.

When to see a doctor

While these exercises are effective for managing patellar tendonitis, it’s crucial to get a proper diagnosis. If your pain is severe, doesn’t improve with rest, or is accompanied by significant swelling or locking of the knee, please consult a doctor or physical therapist.

Keep Reading: ACL reconstruction protocol: Step-by-step guide

2026 Research Update: What the Evidence Says About Exercise Choice

A 2026 systematic review and network meta-analysis in BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, pooling 17 randomized controlled trials on exercise-based treatment for patellar tendinopathy, adds useful context to the routine above:

• Heavy slow resistance (HSR) training remains the benchmark treatment — no other exercise approach proved statistically superior to it. The Wall Sit or Semi-Squat Hold covered earlier in this article follows this same slow, sustained-loading principle.
• Eccentric loading, blood flow restriction training, and moderate-slow resistance all performed comparably to HSR, so several structured, progressive-loading approaches are reasonable options.
• Flywheel training, eccentric step training, and isolated concentric exercise performed worse than HSR.

The practical takeaway: there’s no single “best” exercise for patellar tendonitis. What matters most is consistent, progressive loading — such as the straight leg raises, wall sits, and hamstring curls covered above — rather than chasing one specific protocol. (Source: Liu, Li & Yang, 2026, BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation)

Patellar Tendonitis FAQs

Sunit. S. Ekka

The author is a physiotherapist who has been practising for the last 17 years. He holds a Bachelor's in Physiotherapy (BPT) from SVNIRTAR (Swami Vivekananda National Institute of Rehabilitation and Research), one of the prestigious physiotherapy schools in India.

Whatever he learns dealing with his patient, he shares it with the world through blogs and e-books. He also owns a YouTube channel, "Sunit Physiotherapist" with over 8 lakh active subscribers. Here, he shares everything he gets to learn serving the patient.