Runner's knee vs jumper's knee: which one do you have?

Two different structures, two different patterns. Runner's knee (patellofemoral pain) is irritation of the joint where the kneecap glides on the thigh bone — it aches around or behind the kneecap. Jumper's knee (patellar tendinopathy) is a load problem in the tendon just below the kneecap — it hurts at one precise spot on the tendon, right where it attaches to the bottom of the kneecap.

Location: vague front-of-knee or behind-the-kneecap ache points to runner's knee; a fingertip-precise sore spot below the kneecap points to jumper's knee.

Provocation: runner's knee flares with squatting, stairs, long sitting and running volume. Jumper's knee flares with springy, explosive load — jumping, landing, sprinting, direction changes — and often warms up during activity only to bite afterwards.

The rehab logic differs. Runner's knee responds to combined hip-and-knee strengthening with the joint progressively reloaded. Jumper's knee is a tendon problem: it needs a patient progression of tendon loading — heavy, slow work before springy work — and responds poorly to complete rest. Both take weeks, not days, and neither needs a scan to get started. Pick the matching guide below.