West Hampstead NW6 · Knee injuries
Twisted your knee at weekend sport?
Five-a-side, tennis, netball or cricket. When you need a scan, when surgery helps and when rehab is enough, from our West Hampstead team.
Quick answer: if you’ve twisted your knee playing sport, calm the swelling, keep it moving gently and get a proper assessment. Many knee injuries, including a lot of meniscus tears, recover well with a structured rehab programme and don’t need an operation. Some, such as a complete ACL tear in someone who wants to return to pivoting sport, may benefit from surgery. An early assessment helps you take the right path from the start.
Tyrone, who leads our West Hampstead clinic, restoring a patient’s knee movement
Weekend sport in NW6
West Hampstead loves its weekend sport. There’s cricket at Hampstead Cricket Club on Lymington Road, plenty of five-a-side and Sunday league football, tennis, netball, running and lots of people back on the pitch for the first time in years.
Knee injuries are some of the most common sports injuries we see. Usually they happen with a twist, a sudden change of direction or an awkward landing. Our West Hampstead physio clinic is on West End Lane, opposite the Thameslink station.
Do I need a scan?
One of the first things our patients ask is whether they need an MRI. Many people believe a scan is the only way to know what’s wrong. In reality, a thorough assessment of how the injury happened, how quickly it swelled, how the knee moves and how stable it is tells us a great deal.
A scan is useful when the result would change what we do: a knee that keeps giving way, one that locks and won’t straighten, a suspected complete ligament rupture in someone who wants to get back to sport, or a knee that isn’t progressing. We can arrange imaging or a referral to one of the knee surgeons we work with across North London.
How to prevent knee and ankle re-injury by improving landing stability
Do I need surgery?
This is the next big worry. The answer depends on the injury and on what you want your knee to do.
Meniscus tear
Torn cartilage
For many people, especially with degenerative tears in middle age, research shows exercise therapy gives similar results to keyhole surgery. A knee that genuinely locks may need a surgical opinion.
ACL tear
Cruciate ligament
Some people do well with rehab alone, others benefit from reconstruction. Returning to pivoting sport before about nine months after reconstruction is linked to a higher risk of reinjury. ACL rehab
Collateral ligament sprain
MCL or LCL
Most inner and outer knee ligament sprains recover well with rehab and sometimes a period in a brace.
We want to help you avoid surgery wherever it’s sensible to and to make sure you’re in the best possible shape for it when it isn’t.
What to do in the first few days
- Protect it: ease off sport and anything that makes it give way or swell more. Crutches can help for a few days if walking is very painful.
- Keep it moving gently: regular, comfortable bending and straightening helps more than keeping it still.
- Manage the swelling: elevation and compression can help in the early days.
- Get it assessed: especially if it swelled quickly, gave way or you heard a pop.
Get urgent medical help if
your knee is locked and won’t straighten, you can’t put any weight on it at all, or it looks deformed.
Knee not right after the weekend?
See Tyrone or Otis at West Hampstead for a clear diagnosis and plan.
At a glance
| Most common cause | Twisting, a sudden change of direction or an awkward landing. |
|---|---|
| Scan needed? | Not routinely. Only when the result would change your treatment. |
| Meniscus tears | Often recover well with structured exercise rehab. |
| ACL tears | Rehab alone or reconstruction, depending on your goals. Either way, rehab is central. |
| Get urgent help if | Your knee locks, you can’t weight bear at all or it looks deformed. |
Watch: knee advice from our physios
Short videos from the BOOST PHYSIO team. If an exercise makes your knee worse, stop and ask your physio for the right version for you.
ACL rehab exercises with Rebecca
Exercises for pain at the front of the knee
How to protect your knees
Meet your West Hampstead knee physio
Tyrone Kon
Specialist Physiotherapist and Director, West Hampstead
Tyrone leads our West Hampstead clinic and has a particular interest in knee rehabilitation, including ACL and meniscal injuries, as well as helping patients avoid orthopaedic surgery wherever possible. He works alongside Otis Barton-Black, whose sport rehabilitation background is ideal for the final stages of getting you back on the pitch or court.
Every tool for your best recovery
At BOOST PHYSIO, we believe your best recovery comes from having every tool available, not relying on just one. Our physiotherapists combine hands-on treatment with exercise rehabilitation built around you, then adjust it as you progress.
Something our patients don’t always realise is how much support sits behind each physio. Our team trains together twice a month and every physio has a dedicated mentor who reviews cases with them, so when you see us in West Hampstead you get the experience of the whole team.
- Same day appointments, seven days a week
- No GP referral needed to book
- Treatment recognised by Bupa, AXA Health, Vitality, WPA and Aviva
Closer to Hampstead or Swiss Cottage? Our Hampstead and Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre clinics are close by, or you can see all our clinic locations.
Back on the pitch with confidence
Same day appointments at Apex Health, 160 West End Lane. Your Best Recovery, Guaranteed.
Related reading
Knee pain physio
Expert ACL physiotherapy
Knee ligament injury treatment
Kneecap pain explained
How to improve knee stiffness
Ankle sprain physioYour questions answered
Do I need an MRI scan for my knee injury?
Not always. A thorough clinical assessment often tells us what’s injured. We recommend a scan when the result would change your treatment, for example if your knee keeps giving way, locks or isn’t progressing as expected.
Can a meniscus tear heal without surgery?
Many meniscus tears, especially degenerative tears, improve well with a structured exercise programme. Research has shown similar results to keyhole surgery for many people. A knee that genuinely locks may need a surgical opinion.
How long until I can play football or tennis again?
It depends on the injury. A mild ligament sprain may take a few weeks, while ACL reconstruction usually means the best part of a year before returning to pivoting sport. We’ll give you a realistic timeline after your assessment.
Can you refer me to a knee surgeon if I need one?
Yes. We work with many orthopaedic knee consultants across North London and can refer you on if your assessment shows you would benefit from a surgical opinion.
Where is the West Hampstead clinic?
At Apex Health, Unit 9, 160 West End Lane, NW6 1HU, opposite West Hampstead Thameslink station and a few minutes’ walk from the Jubilee line and Overground stations.
Written by the BOOST PHYSIO team. Clinician details are taken from their BOOST PHYSIO profiles. References: (1) Kise NJ et al, “Exercise therapy versus arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for degenerative meniscal tear in middle aged patients: randomised controlled trial with two year follow-up”, BMJ, 2016;354:i3740. (2) Grindem H et al, “Simple decision rules can reduce reinjury risk by 84% after ACL reconstruction: the Delaware-Oslo ACL cohort study”, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016;50(13):804-808. This article is general guidance and is not a substitute for an individual physiotherapy assessment. If you have severe or worsening pain, numbness, loss of bladder or bowel control, or you feel unwell, seek urgent medical advice.
