Part of Patellar tendinopathy
Jumper's knee pain location: where it hurts, and where it does not
Warning signs, and when to get help
Where does jumper's knee hurt?
At one spot, and it is smaller than most people expect.
Jumper's knee hurts where the patellar tendon leaves the bottom tip of the kneecap (the inferior pole of the patella). Malliaras and colleagues (2015) make that location one of two hallmarks of the condition. The other is what load does to it: the pain climbs as the knee extensors are asked for more, and it is worst in activities that store and release energy in the tendon, which means jumping, landing, bounding and hopping. Where only one of the two is present, the sensible next step is to keep looking rather than to settle on this answer.
The tendon itself runs from that tip down to the bony bump at the top of the shin, so pain can sit at either end. In adults the kneecap end is much the commoner one. The patellar tendinopathy program covers what to do about it once the spot and the pattern fit.
The one finger test
Here is how a physio finds that spot, and you can do the same once.
Sit with the leg out straight and the thigh completely relaxed, because a tensed quadriceps pulls the kneecap up and buries the tip you are looking for. Rest a thumb on the top edge of the kneecap and push it gently toward your shin. The bottom tip tilts slightly forward as you do, and the soft spot directly under it is where the tendon attaches. Press there with one fingertip.
If that single point is the pain, you have found what the condition is named for. If you have to press over a wide area to find it, if the sore part is the crease at either side of the joint, or if pressing anywhere hurts about the same, the picture fits something else on this page better.
Press it once and then leave it alone. Checking a tender tendon several times a day keeps it sore and tells you nothing new, and the useful information comes from what the knee does under load instead.
Does jumper's knee hurt to touch?
Yes, usually, and that is the least specific thing about it.
Plenty of structures at the front of the knee are tender when they are irritated, so a sore spot is a starting point rather than an answer. What makes the tendon's story recognizable is the pairing: tenderness at the inferior pole together with pain that rises with the demand on the thigh muscles (Malliaras and colleagues, 2015). The same authors point out that tendon changes on ultrasound and MRI turn up in people who have no pain at all, which is why this diagnosis is made from where it is tender and what load does to it, not from a picture. Whether patellar tendonitis shows up on a scan takes that further.
Pain that comes with load, not at rest
This is the half of the hallmark people forget, and it is the half that sorts the tendon from its neighbors.
A sore patellar tendon is quiet when the leg is doing nothing. Ask the thigh muscles for work and it speaks up, in proportion to the demand. Walking on the flat is usually fine. A deep squat, stairs on the way down, standing up out of a low car seat and the first few jumps of a session are where people notice it. Malliaras and colleagues use a single leg decline squat as the test for exactly this reason: it loads the extensor mechanism heavily in one leg and reproduces the pain at the spot when the tendon is the problem.
Two patterns are worth separating. Pain that is at its worst in the springy loads, taking off and landing, is the classic tendon pattern. Pain that is at its worst in a long hold, such as sitting with the knee bent through a flight or a meeting, is more typical of the joint surface behind the kneecap. Knee pain when squatting walks through the movement that catches out most people with either.
Does jumper's knee hurt all the time?
Rarely, and the way it comes and goes is a clue in itself.
A tendon has a habit that makes it easy to misjudge. It is stiff and sore for the first minutes of activity, feels better as you warm up, and then charges you for the session hours later or the next morning. People finish a game convinced the knee has turned a corner and wake up to a tendon that is worse than it was all week.
That pattern also drifts in a particular direction over months. First it hurts only after sport, then during the warm-up, then in the daily movements that have nothing to do with sport. The last stage is the one that brings people in, and it is still the same problem with a lower threshold rather than a new one.
Pain that never lets up, pain at rest that keeps climbing, or pain that wakes you at night does not fit this. Those have their own lines on the warning list at the foot of this page, with a time attached to each.
Above the kneecap instead: the quadriceps tendon
The same tendon problem happens at the other end of the kneecap, and the distance between the two spots is the width of your kneecap.
Malliaras and colleagues note that tendinopathy of the knee's extensor mechanism also occurs at the quadriceps tendon, above the kneecap, and at the patellar tendon's lower attachment on the shin. The pain behaves the same way, rising with load on the thigh muscles, so only the location separates them. Put your finger on the top edge of the kneecap: if that is the sore point rather than the bottom tip, the tendon above is the one to have assessed. There is no program for quadriceps tendinopathy on this site yet, and following a patellar tendon program for it would be loading the wrong end.
One thing does not change with the location. The emergency line at the foot of this page covers a pop or a tearing feeling above the kneecap as well as below it, because both tendons can tear and both repairs do better early.
On the shin bump instead: a knee that is still growing
In a teenager, pain at the lower end of the tendon is usually not adult jumper's knee.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons puts Osgood-Schlatter pain at the tibial tubercle, which is the bony bump on the shin where the lower end of the patellar tendon anchors. Its diagnosis is made from the history and the examination, and OrthoInfo states that X-rays are not needed to make it. Two further points from the same page settle most parents' questions: continued participation will not cause long-term damage to the knee, and the bump itself tends to persist and may get larger until growing finishes. One thing is not covered by that reassurance. A limp that has just appeared in a growing child or teenager needs a doctor the same day, as the warning list at the foot of this page sets out, because some hip problems at this age are felt in the knee.
Pain at the bottom tip of the kneecap in a growing athlete has its own name too. Wilczynski and colleagues (2024) describe Sinding-Larsen-Johansson disease as pain localized at the inferior pole of the patella in physically active adolescents aged 9 to 17, and their review found conservative treatment giving good results within about two to eight months, from a body of evidence they describe as limited and often conflicting.
So the age of the knee changes the answer at both ends of the tendon. Osgood-Schlatter disease has its own program, and jumper's knee or Osgood-Schlatter in a teenager puts the two side by side for a parent or a coach.
All around the kneecap instead: patellofemoral pain
This is the one most often mistaken for jumper's knee, and the giveaway is that the reader cannot point to the pain.
Patellofemoral pain is felt around or behind the kneecap rather than under its tip. People circle the area with a whole hand instead of pointing, and the provoking list is different: stairs in both directions, squatting, kneeling, hills, and long spells sitting with the knee bent. The ache after sitting is so typical that it has its own name in clinics, and it is not a feature of a tendon.
Strength work overlaps between the two, so the mistake is not a disaster. It matters most at the far end of rehab, because the jumping stages that a tendon needs are not what an irritable kneecap joint wants. The patellofemoral pain program is the one to follow if the ache is around the kneecap, and knee pain when bending covers the symptom that sends most people looking.
Deep in the joint instead, with catching or giving way
Pain that comes from inside the joint behaves in ways a tendon never does.
A meniscus tear sits along the crease at the side of the knee, not under the kneecap tip, and it brings mechanical symptoms with it. OrthoInfo describes feeling a pop at the time of injury, being able to walk afterward, and a knee that becomes stiffer and more swollen over 2 to 3 days, with catching, locking or a sense of giving way among the commonest symptoms. The NHS adds that the swelling may not start for a few hours or days, which is why people decide on Monday that Saturday's twist was nothing.
A tendon does not catch, does not lock and does not fill up with fluid overnight. If any of that is happening, the question is not which tendon problem you have. Where a meniscus tear hurts goes through the locations in detail, the meniscus tear program covers the condition, and patellar tendonitis or a meniscus tear is the page that separates these two specifically.
What it feels like through the day
The clock tells you more about a tendon than the pain score does.
Mornings are often stiff for a few minutes, particularly after a loading day. Sitting still with the knee bent leaves it sore when you get up. Going down stairs usually hurts more than going up, because the tendon is absorbing the landing on each step. Late in a session, once the calf and thigh are tired, the tendon takes more of the load and the pain climbs. None of that is dangerous, and all of it is useful information.
Judging whether it is improving needs one fixed reference point, not a general impression. Pick a single movement, do it at the same time of day, and ignore how the knee felt in the middle of a game, because a tendon that has warmed up is not reporting honestly. Knee pain on stairs describes the daily movement most people end up using as their own test.
When pain in this spot is an emergency
Rarely, and the signs are specific enough to recognize.
The patellar tendon can tear completely, and when it does, the kneecap loses its anchor to the shinbone. OrthoInfo describes a tearing or popping sensation, an indentation at the bottom of the kneecap where the tendon gave way, the kneecap moving up into the thigh, and difficulty walking as the knee buckles. It also states that when the tendon is completely torn you cannot straighten the knee, and that people who need surgery do better when the repair is done soon after the injury.
Perspective matters here, because the question is usually asked out of fear. OrthoInfo is explicit that it takes a very strong force to tear the patellar tendon, and the usual mechanism is the knee bent with the foot planted, such as landing from a jump. The warning line below is there so you can recognize it, not because it is likely, and can patellar tendonitis lead to a tear answers the fear behind the question properly.
When should you see a physio about pain below the kneecap?
Sooner than most people do, and the NHS gives the plain version: see a doctor if knee pain does not improve within a few weeks.
An assessment is worth more on this condition than on many knee problems, because the whole treatment is a dose. A physio (physical therapist) confirms the spot and the load pattern, picks the stage your tendon can actually handle, and sets the point at which jumping goes back in. Our own single leg wall sit with a ball and backward step down pages show two of the loads used to judge that, and they double as honest tests of the sore side, since two legs quietly share the work and hide the difference.
Go sooner than a few weeks if the knee locks, swells quickly, gives way, or is hot and swollen with a temperature. Those are on the warning list below with a time against each, and red flags in physiotherapy explains why they are treated as separate questions rather than as part of the tendon story. If you have had knee surgery of any kind, your surgeon's or hospital team's instructions come first, and anything new in an operated knee goes to that team rather than to a web page.
Related exercise programs
Warning signs
Get emergency help now
- Emergency: you felt a sudden pop or tearing feeling just above or below your kneecap, you can see or feel a dip there, the kneecap seems to have moved up toward the thigh or to sag lower than usual, or you suddenly cannot straighten your knee or lift your leg out straight. Stop exercising and go to an emergency department straight away, even if you can still walk, as this can be a torn tendon at the front of the knee, either below the kneecap (patellar tendon) or above it (quadriceps tendon). Do not drive yourself. A repair usually does better if it is done soon after the injury.
- Emergency: the knee became very swollen very quickly, within a few hours of a twist, fall or blow, or you felt a pop or snap. Go to an emergency department straight away. Do not drive yourself: ask someone to drive you or call an ambulance.
- Emergency: the kneecap has slipped out of place, even if it went back by itself. If it is still out of place, go to an emergency department straight away, and do not drive yourself. If it went back by itself, get medical advice the same day.
- Emergency: you are still growing and have pain that wakes you at night, pain at rest that keeps getting worse, or a lump or swelling around the knee or thigh that keeps growing. If you also have a rash that does not fade when you press it, call emergency services or go to an emergency department.
Get help now, day or night
- Your tendon pain or swelling started while you were taking a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, such as ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin, or in the months after a course. Contact your doctor straight away. The UK medicines regulator (MHRA) advises stopping the antibiotic at the first sign of tendon pain or swelling and talking to your doctor. Hold off the knee exercises until you have been checked.
Get help today
- Same day: the pain started with a fall, a twist or a blow to the knee, or you cannot put weight on the leg. Get medical advice the same day.
- Same day: the knee is locked, which means it is stuck bent and you cannot fully straighten it, even after gently trying to move it, or you cannot bend or straighten the leg at all. Get assessed the same day by a doctor, at urgent care or at an emergency department. A torn piece of meniscus can get caught in the joint and block it, and when a tear like this can be repaired, it should be done as early as possible. A knee that catches for a moment and then frees itself can happen with a meniscus tear. That is not the same as a locked knee, but tell your physio or doctor about it.
- Same day: the knee keeps giving way under you, or it gave way after a recent injury, or it gives way and is also very painful or swollen. Get medical advice the same day. If it only happens now and then, with no recent injury and no swelling, it is not an emergency, but book an assessment with a physio or doctor in the next few days.
- Same day: the knee is hot, red and swollen, or you have knee pain with a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery. Get medical advice the same day, and go to an emergency department if you feel very unwell. This can be a sign of infection in the joint, which needs treatment quickly.
- Same day: a calf or thigh that is newly swollen or getting more swollen, warm, tender, red or darker than usual, has swollen veins that are sore to touch, or has a throbbing or cramping pain that does not fit your injury or condition, or that feels different from normal muscle soreness after exercise. This can be a sign of a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis), especially after surgery, an injury, time in a cast or boot, a long trip or a spell of being much less mobile than usual. Get medical advice the same day. If you are also short of breath or have chest pain, call emergency services.
- Same day: you are a teenager who is still growing and you have a limp, or pain in the hip, groin or thigh as well as the knee. Get an urgent appointment with a doctor the same day, and stay off sport and these exercises until you have been checked. If you cannot put weight on the leg, have a high temperature or feel very unwell, go to an emergency department. Some hip problems in growing teenagers, such as a slipped growth plate at the top of the thigh bone (slipped capital femoral epiphysis), are felt in the knee and need checking quickly.
- Same day: pain at night or at rest that keeps getting worse. If you are being treated for cancer now, contact your cancer team the same day.
Book an appointment
- Within a day or two: you are still growing and have pain that wakes you at night, pain at rest that keeps getting worse, or a lump or swelling around the knee or thigh that keeps growing. See a doctor within a day or two. Ask for an urgent appointment rather than the next routine one, and say what the pain does at night and whether a lump is getting bigger. Do the same if the pain comes with looking pale, unusual tiredness, fevers with no clear cause, bruising or bleeding easily, or weight loss. Bone pain that is worse at night, or a new lump, needs checking to rule out rarer causes such as a bone tumor or a blood cancer (leukemia).
- Within a day or two: pain at night or at rest that keeps getting worse. If you have had cancer, now or in the past, see your doctor sooner, within a day or two, and mention it, even if the pain is not getting worse. Do the same if you have knee pain and are losing weight without trying, even if it does not hurt at night.
- Within a few days: pain at night or at rest that keeps getting worse. See your doctor within a few days.
Common questions
Does jumper's knee hurt to touch?
Usually, and only in one place. The tender point is the bottom tip of the kneecap, and people can often find it with a fingertip once they know to push the kneecap gently toward the shin first. Tenderness there is not enough on its own, though. Malliaras and colleagues (2015) pair the location with load-related pain that climbs as the knee extensors work harder, so a spot that is sore to press but untroubled by jumping, landing or a deep squat points somewhere else.
Does jumper's knee hurt all the time?
Not in most people, and the pattern is part of the diagnosis. Early on it turns up after sport and has gone by the next afternoon. Later it arrives during the warm-up, eases once you are moving, then bites in the evening or first thing the next morning. Constant pain, pain at rest that keeps building, or night pain that wakes you is a different pattern and has its own lines on the warning list at the foot of this page.
What does jumper's knee feel like?
Most people describe a sharp or bruise-like pain at one point under the kneecap, not an ache through the whole joint. It is worst in the springy loads: taking off, landing, hopping, and the last jumps of a long session when the legs are tired. Going down stairs and standing up out of a low chair often sting. The knee does not usually catch, lock or give way, and those behaviors belong to the joint rather than to the tendon.
Where exactly is jumper's knee pain felt?
At the bottom tip of the kneecap, which Malliaras and colleagues (2015) call the inferior pole of the patella, where the patellar tendon starts. It is a spot rather than an area, and it is above the tendon's other end at the bony bump on the shin. Pain at the top edge of the kneecap is the quadriceps tendon instead, and pain at the shin bump in a teenager who is still growing is usually Osgood-Schlatter disease, which the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons places at the tibial tubercle where the patellar tendon attaches.
References
- Malliaras P, Cook J, Purdam C, Rio E. Patellar Tendinopathy: Clinical Diagnosis, Load Management, and Advice for Challenging Case Presentations. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. 2015;45(11):887-898. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2015.5987
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Patellar Tendon Tear. OrthoInfo. https://www.orthoinfo.org/en/diseases--conditions/patellar-tendon-tear/
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Osgood-Schlatter Disease (Knee Pain). OrthoInfo. https://www.orthoinfo.org/en/diseases--conditions/osgood-schlatter-disease-knee-pain/
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Meniscus Tears. OrthoInfo. https://www.orthoinfo.org/en/diseases--conditions/meniscus-tears/
- Wilczynski B, Taraszkiewicz M, de Tillier K, Bialy M, Zorena K. Sinding-Larsen-Johansson disease. Clinical features, imaging findings, conservative treatments and research perspectives: a scoping review. PeerJ. 2024;12:e17996. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17996
- NHS. Knee pain. Page last reviewed 21 December 2023. https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/knee-pain/
- NHS. Meniscus tear (knee cartilage damage). Page last reviewed 02 September 2026. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/meniscus-tear/
Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-10-21.
This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. See a physiotherapist or doctor for advice about your own situation.