Have you noticed a nagging pain near your kneecap lately? If so, it could be a condition called patellofemoral pain syndrome — aka runner’s knee. Research shows it’s one of the most common knee conditions out there, affecting a whopping 1 in 5 people every year.
The cause usually comes down to body mechanics or imbalances, which means that training the right muscles can often get you on track to feeling better. But if you’re looking to soothe pain and support your knees in the meantime, massage therapy is one remedy that could help.
Read on to learn about the potential benefits of massage for patellofemoral pain syndrome, plus some self-massage techniques and tips to know before getting started.
What Is Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS)?
Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is the most common diagnosis for patella (kneecap) pain. It’s a general term that covers many types of pain around the joint, ranging from an all-over ache to sharper, more acute pain.
PFPS is typically caused by imbalances or weaknesses that affect the way your knees absorb shock, especially while they’re bent. (Think when you land after a big jump, or when your feet strike the ground while sprinting down a paved trail.)
The good news: Even if you have runner’s knee, it doesn’t always mean that the joint itself is damaged. In many cases, it could simply be a matter of minor strain due to misalignment and weakness in certain lower body muscles. This means that taking time to rest your knees — and gradually building strength in the right muscles — can often help you relieve and prevent pain over time.
What Causes Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome?
While there’s no single cause of PFPS, some risk factors include:
- Striking down on your knees a lot, like when you run, leap, or jump
- Having issues with your foot mechanics, including flat feet or overpronation
- Weak or tight lower body muscles including the hips, quadriceps, glutes, or hamstrings, which can cause misalignment and strain the kneecaps
Chondromalacia Patella
More rarely, a condition called chondromalacia patella can also play a role in kneecap pain. Compared to minor cases of PFPS, this condition involves cartilage damage that could be adding to inflammation and pain in your knee joint.
If you suspect that cartilage damage might be part of the problem, it’s important to check with your doctor, as your treatment and recovery plan might look a little different from typical cases of runner’s knee.
Symptoms of PFPS
The main symptoms of patellofemoral pain syndrome include:
- Feeling pain in the front or sides of your kneecap
- Pain that gets worse when you’re climbing stairs, squatting, walking downhill, or running
- Knees that feel stiff or achy after sitting for a long time
- Clicking or popping when bending or straightening your knees
- Swelling or tenderness around the kneecap
When To See Your Doctor for Patella Pain
Be sure to visit your doctor if your knee pain isn’t getting better after a week or two of rest and home treatments. Beyond that, see a provider right away if your pain began after an injury or fall, is severe, or is making it difficult to bear weight on your leg.
How Can Massage Help Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome?
When it comes to your kneecaps, the chain of muscles above and below them can impact their alignment and overall health. By targeting these muscles with massage, it can often make a positive difference in patellofemoral pain.
That said, massage is not a cure or treatment for PFPS — but its effects might make it helpful in a few ways. Specifically, here are a few knee-soothing benefits that it could bring:
Supports Posture, Mobility, and Alignment
Body mechanics can be complicated, and for knee pain, recovery often means adding strength to certain muscle groups through exercise. But it might also mean finding — and reducing — areas of tension. And massage can be a powerful tool for doing just that.
The friction of massage can break up tightness and trigger points in knee-supporting muscles like the:
- Hamstrings
- Quadriceps
- Calves
- Hip flexors
- Gluteal muscles
The result? A more balanced lower body that reduces strain and supports your knees’ function and alignment. The pressure of massage can also improve your mobility and sense of bodily awareness, helping you to notice earlier on when your knees feel misaligned, or when lower body muscles don’t feel as loose or flexible as they should.
Soothes Pain
While massage isn’t a cure-all for knee injuries, gentle friction on the muscles around the knees can be a powerful way to ease pain. By working on the lower quads and hamstrings (as well as the calf muscles), you can promote a soothing boost of circulation and warmth to the joint. At the same time, massage can also boost endorphins and temporarily ease pain perception.
One 2023 study looked at instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) — a skilled manual therapy used by some physical therapists — versus a type of massage called Tui-na massage for patellofemoral pain. They found that IASTM worked best in the long term, but that both treatments led to a significant improvement in knee pain relief.
Before Trying Massage
Before you try massage for patellofemoral pain, it’s important to note that it may not be the right fit for everyone. Wait and check with your doctor first if you have:
- Had a recent injury (like a fall or twist)
- Redness or swelling near the knee
- A history of or symptoms of blood clots, such as redness, swelling, pain, or discoloration in the leg
- Had a recent surgery and aren’t sure when — or what kind of — massage might be safe
- A chronic health condition that hasn’t been OK’d for massage in the past
3 Self-Massage Techniques For Patellofemoral Pain
Whether you’re looking to soothe runner’s knee pain flare-ups — or better support your knee health and mechanics long-term — here are three easy self-massage techniques to consider adding to your routine:
Quadriceps Foam Rolling
The quadriceps (front thigh muscles) play a major role in keeping your knees sturdy and supported. But when they’re tense or tight, it can pull the joint out of alignment, causing extra strain on the kneecap when you walk and run.
Luckily, if you have a small foam roller on hand, it can work well for manually rolling tension out of large muscle groups like the quads. Here’s how to try it:
- Face the ground, and place your foam roller underneath your lower quadriceps, just above your affected knee.
- Lean down on your elbows to keep your upper body supported.
- Use your arms and opposite leg to begin rolling the thigh muscles with moderate pressure. Stop just below the hip, and slowly roll back down toward the knee.
- Repeat for 1–2 minutes, being sure not to roll over the kneecap itself.
- Then, rotate your body outward to target the vastus lateralis, or the big, outer quadriceps muscle. Continue to roll with steady, moderate pressure for 1–2 minutes more.
Try a Massage Gun
A massage gun like the Accuvibe Mini can be a great option for anyone whose knees see a lot of wear and tear. Its powerful bursts of massage can deeply soothe muscles in just a minute or two per session — making it a handy tool for targeting large areas like the hamstrings and quads.
As with many massage tools, it’s important to know that massage guns are meant for muscle tissue, not bones or joints themselves. With that in mind, here are the simple steps to using one to ease tension in your knee-supporting muscles:
- Choose your attachment. (A ball or padded round attachment is always a great go-to.)
- Take a seated or standing position (whatever feels more comfortable), and turn the massage gun to its lowest setting.
- Gently sweep the massage gun across both the quadriceps and hamstrings for 10-20 seconds to warm up the muscle tissue.
- Next, you can spend more time focusing on each muscle group.
- Gradually increase the massage gun’s intensity until you reach your desired pressure.
- Glide the massage gun side-to-side across the quadriceps for 45–60 seconds. (Tip: Be sure to stop before you reach the kneecap itself.)
- Repeat these sweeping motions over the hamstrings for 45–60 seconds.
Use an Electric Body Massager
If you’re after more hands-off massage at home, a body massager with a wider surface can be a great option. A tool like the MedMassager Body Massager Classic can be applied manually — but it can also be rested against the leg muscles to provide a more passive, restorative massage for runner’s knee.
To use one to soothe the knee-stabilizing muscles, simply:
- Find a relaxing spot to lie or sit down.
- Turn the massager to a light setting.
- Begin by warming up the muscles you want to work on. (The hamstrings, calves, and quads are all good choices when it comes to knee health.)
- Allow the muscles to absorb the vibrating motions for 1–2 minutes.
- From there, gradually increase the massage intensity to your desired level.
- Spend 5–10 minutes working more deeply into the hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves. (You can do this manually, or, feel free to position the massager next to each muscle group for a more relaxing experience.)
Can Professional Massage Help PFPS?
If patellofemoral pain has been showing up on and off over weeks, months, or years, you might wonder whether professional massage can help. Skilled therapists – especially those trained in sports massage – can’t directly cure PFPS, but they can provide more targeted relief and may help lower your odds of knee pain in the future. They do this by:
- Identifying tension in the hamstrings, quads, or calves that might be straining or “pulling” on your kneecap
- Breaking up trigger points that could be contributing to misalignment
- Supporting healthy blood flow
- Improving lower body mobility
Other Tips for Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome Relief
Runner’s knee is often linked to leg strength and body mechanics — and while massage is one way to soothe pain, it’s not the only step you can take. Here are a few other remedies that can help you get closer to the source of your kneecap pain (and even prevent it down the road):
Reduce the Stress on Your Knees
If your kneecap has felt especially achy or inflamed, the best step you can take is to stop any aggravating activities — at least for a few days. This critical rest period gives your body time to start its own healing process, without adding more irritation on top of any already-inflamed knee.
Along the way, you can manage pain with remedies like:
- Cold compresses or ice packs
- A knee brace
- Changing your footwear to something more shock-absorbent and supportive of your knees’ natural alignment
Regularly Stretch Tense Muscles
Tight hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, and even the glutes can affect the alignment of your knee joints. By using stretches to keep these muscles loose and mobile, you can ensure your knees aren’t stuck in unhealthy positions (or taking on too much shock) when you’re on your feet.
Some simple, powerful stretches to add to your daily routine include:
- Standing quadriceps stretch: Stand upright and lift your foot out behind you. Pull it in toward your back until you feel a stretch in the quads.
- Sitting hamstring stretch: Sit on a flat surface with your legs straight out in front of you. Reach toward your toes until you feel a stretch in the hamstrings.
- Standing calf stretch: Step back into a short lunge, and press back into your heel to feel a stretch in the calf.
Strengthen Supporting Muscles
Tension can cause knee pain, but so can weakness — and muscles far beyond the knees themselves can affect patellofemoral pain. One 2015 review of studies found that strengthening the hips and knees improved outcomes for PFPS compared to just strengthening the knees alone.
So, what kind of exercises can help? Here are some easy, effective options:
- Quad straight leg raises: Lie on your back with your legs extended. Engage your quads to lift your leg straight in the air. Repeat for 3 sets of 15 reps on both legs.
- Side-lying leg raise: Lie on your side and lift your leg toward the ceiling. Lead with your heel to engage the side gluteal muscles. Repeat for 3 sets of 10 reps on each leg.
As your hips and legs get stronger, you can start to add more weight-bearing exercises into your routine — such as squats, lunges, and step-ups.
McConnell Taping
Because runner’s knee often comes with misalignment of the kneecap itself, a specific technique called McConnell taping is used by physical therapists for patients with PFPS. This method works by using strong athletic tape to secure your kneecap in its healthy, natural position — resulting in less strain and pain during recovery.
For McConnell taping to be effective, getting the placement right is key. With that in mind, it’s best to check with a sports medicine professional to learn exactly how to apply it for your specific case of PFPS.
See a Physical Therapist or Sports Medicine Doctor
If you’re not seeing any improvement with home remedies, there may be a deeper underlying condition or muscular imbalance at play — and this is when physical therapy could help.
A physical therapist can help you identify exactly which types of exercises and stretches you should be doing to best improve your unique knee health. At the same time, they can look for any deeper structural issues or injuries that may be at the source of your pain.
Beyond building you a personalized exercise program, they can offer guidance on things like:
- Choosing orthotics or shoe inserts to take the strain off your knees
- Knee taping techniques
- Education around proper movement mechanics to protect your knees
The Bottom Line on Massage for Patellofemoral Pain
When it comes to runner’s knee remedies, massage is one gentle option that can soothe pain and break up tension that might be affecting your alignment. It's not a standalone treatment or cure, but its benefits can make it a good addition to a treatment plan focused on strength, mobility, and healthy knee mechanics.
Of course, it’s key to check with a healthcare professional before starting, especially if you have an acute injury or have any health issues that might interact with massage.
Once you’re ready, you can try simple self-massage, add foam rolling to your daily routine, or get effortless home massage with the MedMassager Body Massager Classic. Pick up yours today, or learn more about its many soothing uses here.
