This page contains knee pain self-help information, written by musculoskeletal physiotherapists.
Important information to read if you have any concerns about your knee pain
Please click below to expand relevant section; these sections outline some of the main issues that we would advise you get checked by a health professional before commencing self-management exercises. These are called Red Flags and may indicate a more serious problem that requires medical assessment.
Symptoms That Are Present After Trauma
re caused by a recent traumatic incident (e.g. a fall, football tackle) and you have any of the following symptoms:
Extensive swelling and bruising around your knee/ lower leg
Severe pain and very limited movement
Great difficulty in putting weight through your leg
Not able to straighten knee out
Joint deformity e.g. kneecap appears in the wrong place
NOTE: If you have an underlying poor bone density (e.g. osteoporosis) smaller amounts of force can cause the problems listed above.
Symptoms Where No Trauma Was Involved
Significant loss of movement with or without pain
Redness, heat and swelling of the joint or surrounding area.
Increasing number of joints that are painful and/or stiff
Fever and general feeling unwell at same time as knee pain developed.
Constant pain that does not change with rest or activity
Significant worsening pain at night with or without night sweats
Unexplained weight loss and/ or previous history of cancer
Unexplained lumps and bumps that appear or are changing/ growing
Note: Special attention should be taken if you have a history of long-term steroid/ immunosuppressive drug use, recent joint replacement, surgery or steroid injection. Rheumatoid arthritis or other joint disease. Recent infection, Intravenous drug use or alcohol misuse.
Exercises and advice
Please make sure you have read through the important information about knee pain before proceeding.
Here are some beginner exercises to help you get your knee moving better. You may need to build these exercises up gradually.
You may be uncomfortable when you start doing these exercises – make sure the level of discomfort feels acceptable to you and that it doesn’t take too long to settle once you are finished.
The exercises should get easier the more consistently you manage to practice them and this may allow you to progress to more difficult exercises.
These are self help exercises:
Try to enjoy the exercises and work at a pace and level that feels safe.
Please use a common sense approach when deciding which ones to try.
The exercises listed are not designed as an alternative to professional advice.
Knee exercise workouts videos (parts 1-3), designed to follow along with
Important Facts About Your Ankle
Here is a list of the main problems and concerns we would recommend you get checked out by a health professional before starting self-management exercises. These are called ‘Red Flags’ and may indicate a more serious problem that requires medical assessment.
Symptoms that are present After Trauma
If your symptoms are caused by a recent traumatic incident (e.g. a fall, football tackle) and you have any of the following symptoms:
Extensive bruising and/ or swelling
Discolouration e.g. your foot looks pale, blue or red
Severe pain and very limited movement
Joint deformity eg foot looks like it is in the wrong place
New lumps and bumps that appear after the trauma
Great difficulty putting weight through your leg
Numbness/ tingling into your foot after trauma
Feeling of instability
Please Note: If you have a known diagnosis of osteoporosis (low bone density) a small amount of force may cause problems that require medical assessment.
Symptoms where No Trauma was Involved
Sudden loss of active movement with or without pain
Redness, heat and swelling of the joint/ surrounding area
Increasing numbers of joints that are painful and/or stiff
Fever or generally feeling unwell at same time as your foot pain developed
Unexplained numbness/ tingling into your foot
Constant pain which does not change with rest or activity
Significant worsening pain at night
Unexplained weight loss and/ or a previous history of cancer
Unexplained lumps and bumps that appear or are changing/ growing
Difficulty lifting the front part of your foot/ catching or dragging your foot when walking
Please Note: Special attention should be taken if you have a history of long-term steroid or immunosuppressive drug use, recent joint replacement, recent steroid injection, rheumatoid arthritis or other joint disease, recent infection, Intravenous drug use or alcohol misuse.
Our colleagues in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Podiatry team have developed a range of information resources for specific foot conditions – please click hereto see what resources are available.
Exercises and advice
Foot and ankle exercises
Please make sure you have read through the important information about foot pain before proceeding.
Here are some beginner-to-progressive exercises to help you get your foot/ankle moving better. You may need to build these exercises up gradually.
You may be uncomfortable when you start doing these exercises – make sure the level of discomfort feels acceptable to you and that it doesn’t take too long to settle once you are finished.
The exercises should get easier the more consistently you manage to practice them and this may allow you to progress to more difficult exercises.
Self help exercises
Try to enjoy the exercises and work at a pace and level that feels safe.
Please use a common sense approach when deciding which ones to try.
The exercises listed are not designed as an alternative to professional advice.
The Pain Service Website has information about how the service can help those living with persistent pain and more self management resources.
Being active is really good for all of us but you may not be sure of how much to do to get a real benefit. The UK Chief Medical Officers report (2019) outlined recommendations for the amount and type of activity that adults and older adults should participate in to really get some benefit (Guidelines Infographic).
If you have any queries about your medical suitability for exercising please discuss this with a healthcare professional.
Within Greater Glasgow and Clyde we have a range of physical activity opportunities and activities for participants so there is something for everyone. In addition we have services that offer more support in helping you become more active:
Please read the following information and then use the links at the bottom of the page if you are looking for further information or exercise.
Important information to read if you have any concerns about your shoulder pain
Please click below to expand relevant section; these sections outline some of the main issues that we would advise you get checked by a health professional before commencing self-management exercises. These are called Red Flags and may indicate a more serious problem that requires medical assessment.
Symptoms That Are Present After Trauma
If your symptoms are caused by a recent traumatic incident (e.g. a fall, football tackle) and you have any of the following symptoms:
Pain and weakness at time of injury or shortly afterwards leading to a sudden loss of shoulder movement/ arm function
Shoulder is significantly bruised and/ or swollen
Shoulder and/ or surrounding soft tissue looks abnormal/deformed
New lumps and bumps that appear after the trauma.
NOTE: If you have an underlying poor bone density (e.g. osteoporosis) smaller amounts of force can cause the problems listed above.
Symptoms Where No Trauma Was Involved
Sudden loss of active movement with or without pain
Pain and/ or stiffness in other joints at the same time as shoulder pain developed
Heat, redness and/ or swelling of joint
Fever and general feeling unwell at same time as shoulder pain developed
Experiencing chest pain and / or difficulty breathing
Unexplained lumps and bumps that appear or are changing/ growing
Constant pain which does not change with rest or activity
Significant worsening night pain with or without night sweats
Unexplained weight loss and/or previous history cancer
Increasing numbers of joints that are painful and/or stiff
Any unexplained tingling, numbness and pins and needles into shoulder and/or arm
Note: Special attention should be taken if you have a history of long-term steroid/ immunosuppressive drug use, recent joint replacement, recent steroid injection, rheumatoid arthritis or other joint disease including recent infection, Intravenous drug use or alcohol misuse.
Shoulder Pain- Information and Exercises
Please make sure you have read through the important information above about shoulder pain before proceeding.
Below are some exercises to help you get your shoulder moving better. You may need to build these exercises up gradually.
You may be uncomfortable when you start doing these exercises – make sure the level of discomfort feels acceptable to you and that it doesn’t take too long to settle once you are finished.
The exercises should get easier the more consistently you manage to practice them and this may allow you to progress to more difficult exercises.
These are self help exercises:
Try to enjoy the exercises and work at a pace and level that feels safe
Please use a common sense approach when deciding which ones to try
The exercises listed are not designed as an alternative to professional advice.
Please read the following information and then use the links at the bottom of the page if you are looking for further information or exercise.
Important information to read if you have any concerns about your neck pain
Please click below to expand relevant section; these sections outline some of the main issues that we would advise you get checked by a health professional before commencing self-management exercises. These are called Red Flags and may indicate a more serious problem that requires medical assessment.
Symptoms That Are Present After Trauma
If symptoms are caused by a traumatic incident to your head and/ or neck (e.g. a fall or severe whiplash) please have this checked out by a health professional before commencing with an exercise program.
Note: If you have a known diagnosis of osteoporosis (low bone density) a small amount of force may cause problems that require medical assessment.
Symptoms Where No Trauma Was Involved
If you feel any of these signs appear rapidly or over a longer period of time please have these checked out by a health professional.
Severe restriction in the movement of your neck and/ or head
Changes in your balance and the way you are walking e.g. tripping, falling
Weakness and/ or altered sensation into both arms and/ or legs at the same time
Problems with coordination of upper and/ or lower limbs e.g. writing, getting dressed, walking
Electric shocks sensations into both arms and legs on forward bending of your head or looking down
Significant changes to bowel, bladder habits and/or sexual function required immediate medical assessment. Warning: Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES): This a rare but extremely serious spinal condition that requires immediate assessment. For further information on CES:
New problems with talking, dizziness, swallowing or eyesight
Fever or generally feeling unwell at same time as neck symptoms developed
Constant pain which does not change with rest or activity
Significant pain and/ or sweats at night
A previous history of cancer and/ or unexplained weight loss
Unexplained lumps or bumps that are changing/growing
Increasing number of joints that are painful and/or stiff
Severe headaches and/ or jaw pain.
Note: Special attention should be taken if you have a history of long-term steroid/ immunosuppressive drug use, recent joint replacement, dental surgery or steroid injection. Previous spinal surgery. Rheumatoid arthritis or other joint disease, recent infection, previous history of tuberculosis, intravenous drug use or alcohol misuse.
Please make sure you have read through the important information above about neck pain before proceeding.
Here are some specific exercises to help you get your neck moving better. You may need to build these exercises up gradually.
You may be uncomfortable when you start doing these exercises – make sure the level of discomfort feels acceptable to you and that it doesn’t take too long to settle once you are finished.
The exercises should get easier the more consistently you manage to practice them and this may allow you to progress to more difficult exercises.
These are self help exercises:
Try to enjoy the exercises and work at a pace and level that feels safe.
Please use a common sense approach when deciding which ones to try.
The exercises listed are not designed as an alternative to professional advice.
Your general health and wellbeing are essential to enjoying life and can have a big impact on your MSK condition, on how it developed and also in helping you to manage it and prevent it from coming back.
The NHSGGC Health Improvement site below is a good place to start if you are looking for something in particular, including advice about smoking, weight, literacy and physical activity. These resources are updated regularly.
The Health and Wellbeing directory allows you to search by topic, for example ‘alcohol’ and has a huge range of resources. For more of a national perspective, try NHS Inform. In addition, we have gathered some resources on a range of topics that may be helpful for you.
It is difficult to give exact waiting time, but we know from your feedback that a ‘rough guide’ would be helpful.
The exact time you will wait may vary from this guide and will be affected by holidays, staff sickness, maternity leave, vacancies, the Covid backlog and the ongoing demand for our Physiotherapy service.
We do our very best to keep this wait as short as possible, while still delivering the highest quality service.
This month, the average waiting time for a routine MSK Physiotherapy appointment is approximately 18 weeks.
This guide is updated monthly and we respectfully ask you not to attend in person at local departments to inquire about it.
Once you reach the top of the waiting list, we will send a letter asking you to contact our booking centre to arrange an appointment should you still require Physiotherapy.
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