Well, finally saw OS after having plica removed in July, loads of ongoing issues. I got about 30 seconds with him, in which he said that I should be eternally grateful that he didn't have to do a lateral release, he barely did anything during the surgery (removed plica) and that it was all the fault of a weak VMO muscle (which I've been exercising since 2 weeks after the surgery!!!!!!!) So, he stuck a cortisone injection in my knee, has sent me back to the physios for more exercises and wants me to see his physio in 4 months time. Meanwhile, he also said that there was 'wear and tear' on my knee cap and he reckons all the painful crunching and burning I get is just 'soft tissue' Feel like I've been totally dismissed and don't see how an injection is going to change everything!! Also, if that is the answer, why has it taken them so long to do it - dealing with UK NHS here, but find it hard to believe nobody but an OS can administer a cortisone injection! Well, had it done on Wednesday and knee has been really stiff and difficult to use since - anybody got any ideas???

Ok, thanks for the advice, I now seem to have another problem! How long should a cortisone injection actually last? once the stiffness had moved off (thanks to the idea of doing passive exercises) the pain I've had for so long all but went away and it felt like my knee had returned to normal, I could walk etc with minimal discomfort when previously I've had to use a stick just to be able to get around. Since yesterday, the pain has returned with a vengence in exactly the same spot as before, so I'm really confused about what effect its supposed to have and how often they do these things.