What helps knee pain?

OTCs and exercise: Tough question. The knee is complicated. You can have torn cartilage, ligament issues, arthritic changes, degenerative disease, just to mention a few problems. I would start with over-the-counter anti-inflammatories, some light range of motion and strengthening exercises. If the pain continues after that, you will have to see your doc. Physical therapy can help and x-rays/mri might be indicated.

Depends: There are multiple reasons for knee pain. Specialist (orthopedist, pain medicine, physical medicine & rehabilitation) evaluation is necessary.

Diagnosis: There are numerous reasons for knee pain and an evaluation is generally required. Most orthopedics exams are directed at identifying surgical problems. Patients are often surprised much of knee pain is poor control at the hip and ankle. Two YouTube videos review the concepts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43Nh5aYwFnA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6SXiDCMP3E

Stretch / strengthen: The knee joint is the thigh bone (femur), shin bone (tibia) and knee cap (patella). Joint surfaces have cartilage, the joint is held in place with ligaments (cruciate and collateral) Movement is facilitated by the knee cap and thigh muscles (patello-femoral complex). A common cause of knee pain in young adults is patello-femoral pain. See http://patient.info/health/knee-pain-patellofemoral-pain