He closed the notebook on the last morning and looked out at the sea.

Ten cases. Ten knees. One week on the coast that had not, in any meaningful sense, constituted a holiday. He was already thinking about the flight home — whether the man in the aisle seat had been limping slightly when he boarded.

If you want to unlock the problem, the knee is key.

Case 030: The Loaded Spring — Patellar Tendinopathy

Two years. The same tendon, the same clinicians, the same advice: rest it, ice it, let the inflammation settle. And every time he returned to the court, it came back within a week. In this final case of the knee series, Sole Trace closes the file on one of sport's most mismanaged tendons — and explains why rest is not the answer. Patellar tendinopathy is not an inflammation problem. It is a loading problem. The tendon that has been rested and stretched for two years has been given everything except the one thing it actually responds to. It's time to load the spring.

If you want to unlock the problem, the knee is key.

Case 029: The Friction Line — Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Kilometre four. Every run, without fail, for six weeks. The lateral knee pain was so consistent it had started to feel like a scheduled appointment. In this case, Sole Trace unpacks one of running's most mismanaged injuries — and why the foam roller and the crossed-leg stretch, however satisfying, are solving the wrong problem. ITB syndrome isn't a tightness issue. It's a compression problem at a specific knee angle, driven by a hip that isn't doing its job. The band isn't the culprit. It's just where the crime scene is.

If you want to unlock the problem, the knee is key.