Knees are complicated, and in women they’re especially prone to injury. If you’re a skier or runner, then you may well suffer from knee pain at some point.

Fortunately, most knee pain gets better on its own. If it only hurts when you exercise, you’re in the clear.

However, if it hurts at other times – when you’re at the cinema or walking upstairs – it could be patellofemoral syndrome.

“This is the most common cause of knee pain in sportswomen,” says Dr Kipps, “The femur has a groove where the knee cap sits, but sometimes the cap moves to one side. This allows pressure to build up, causing a deep pain.”

If your knees are swelling, locking or giving way, don’t ignore it…

Weak stabilising muscles – your glutes – are the root cause, so spend two weeks doing squats, making sure your knees don’t drift inwards, before you get back on the horse.

Thankfully this doesn’t cause long-term damage, but remember – the longer you go without R&R, the longer the pain will last.

If your knees are swelling, locking or giving way, don’t ignore it. Swelling and instability indicates an ACL tear, and locking points to a tear in the meniscus, your knee’s shock-absorbing cartilage.

Either way, you need an MRI to diagnose and, in the worst cases, surgery. An ACL tear will take you out of action for 9 to 12 months, 6 to 9 months for a meniscal tear, and then your physician will help you get back in the game.

Prevention is always better than the cure, so to keep your knees healthy work on those stabilising glutes before anything goes wrong.