You thought exercise was meant to make you feel younger, but here you are with knee pain after taking up running. After all, almost half of recreational runners get injured, according to new research.

Or perhaps you upped your HIIT schedule during the previous lockdown and are now dealing with stiff and achey joints. Or you’re back to box jumps at the gym and noticing that you’re struggling to get up and down the stairs.

“The knee has got two big, cushiony bits between the bones, but these can wear away as we get older – from general wear and tear – but also if you do lots of plyometric sports,” explains Kate Stalker, physiotherapist at The Sporting Joint.

That includes high impact sports that are performed with a lot of power – think running, jumping and twisting. “It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do those things, it just means that we need to be strong enough to do them. Unfortunately, most injuries are caused by too much too soon. Our bodies work best with progressive loading, but usually we find something we enjoy and go from zero to hero very quickly. That puts too much load on the system and it can’t cope with it,” says Kate.

Knee pain: try this 10 minute low-impact home cardio workout to protect your joints