The knee fat pad sits just behind and to the sides of the patella (knee cap) tendon, below the patella. The fat pad can be tender to touch and can be enlarged, puffy or inflamed.It can be irritated by sudden or uncontrolled extension, i.e. straightening of the knee and if the knees ‘hyperextend’, i.e. bend slightly backwards.

Treatment consists of:

1) Training the knees not to straighten fully or suddenly when walking or running.

2) Training the knees to flex freely when landing during running or jumping. This therefore involves training the muscles that control the last bit of knee straightening and the muscles that enable controlled knee bend during running, i.e. eccentric quads.

3) Correcting inefficiencies in lower limb alignment.

4) Acupuncture, taping and hands on techniques to reduce pain, encourage healing and ‘offloading’ the fat pads.