Patellofemoral Pain
REST DIDN’T FIX IT. LOAD WILL .
A self-guided program built by two human performance specialists to retrain your knee for real load: squatting, running, jumping, whatever got you here. Same return-to-play process used with pro athletes, minus the training staff.
$197 · Lifetime access. Every phase unlocked from day one.
THE PROBLEM
You already know what's wrong. Rest still didn't fix it.
You've rested it, iced it, done the clamshells and quad sets from PT. Maybe a cortisone shot. Maybe a scan that came back clean. Doesn't matter. It still hurts on stairs, in a squat, or playing basketball.
Rest doesn't build capacity. It just delays the moment your knee has to handle load again, and it comes back just as sore.
Your knee doesn't need protecting. It needs to get strong enough to stop complaining.
Who built this
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Dr. Jess Elis, PT, DPT, PhD, has spent more than 17 years helping athletes recover from knee injuries and return to high-level performance. After leading medical and performance teams in the NBA, including roles with the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers, he built this protocol to bring the same principles used in professional sports to anyone recovering from patellofemoral pain. Rather than simply prescribing exercises, this course teaches a structured, progressive approach to managing load, restoring capacity, and returning to the activities that matter most—without needing a professional training staff behind you.
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Jake Tuura, MS, CSCS, is a strength and conditioning coach and educator specializing in tendon rehabilitation, athletic performance, and vertical jump development. With experience as a collegiate strength coach and years spent working with athletes recovering from patellar and Achilles tendon injuries, Jake has become a leading voice in evidence-informed tendon rehabilitation. Through his coaching, educational content, and the Jacked Athlete Podcast, he helps athletes and clinicians bridge the gap between tendon science and practical performance.
THE SYSTEM
Built the way we return players to the court
This is a graded loading system, not a generic training routine, adapted so you can run it entirely on your own.
THE PFJ BUDGET
01
02
THE FUNCTIONAL SCREEN
SIGNAL WEEKS
BERNOULLI MOVEMENT PREP
A custom screen that measures your knee capacity and where you should start in the protocol. Everyone has a different starting point and the protocol is built to find it.
Every session has a load limit. You train inside it instead of avoiding movement altogether. This leads to progressive overload.
04
03
The prep sequence that opens every session and gets the knee ready to load. Same as we use with athletes before high-output training.
Green, yellow, red weeks. The model looks at the knee responsiveness from a weekly lens, not a daily.
THE PROTOCOL
Three phases. One direction.
Each phase builds directly on the last. You move forward when your knee is ready, not on a fixed calendar.
Phase 01
Capacity
Calm the joint down and build a base it can load on top of. Less protecting it, more re-exposing it to load it can handle.
Phase 02
Power
Strength
Build real strength through the muscles that support the joint. Load goes up as your signals allow it.
Phase 03
Prepare the knee for the demands you actually care about: running, jumping, cutting, or taking stairs two at a time.
WHAT’S INSIDE
ONE PRODUCT. NOTHING ELSE TO BUY
40+ videos, organized by phase. The reasoning and the execution.
The full written program: starting loads, progression rules, phase by phase.
A flare protocol for the weeks your knee doesn't cooperate.
A starting self-assessment that places you in the right phase from day one.
Daily and weekly tracking tools built on the same monitoring system used with professional athletes.
Lifetime access, with every phase unlocked from the day you start.
IS THIS FOR YOU
Built for this knee pain, not every knee pain
THIS IS A FIT IF
Your knee reacts to stairs, squatting, kneeling, running, or sitting for long periods
You've tried rest, generic exercises, tendon loading strategies or stretching, and the pain came back
You want a plan you can run at home or in the gym, without a clinician watching every session
You're aiming to get back to squatting, running, or your sport, not just get through the day
SEE A PHYSICIAN FIRST IF
You haven't been evaluated yet and something feels seriously wrong
Your knee locks, gives way, or buckles without warning
You've had a recent injury, surgery, or trauma to the knee
You have significant swelling with no clear cause
This program is built to restore your knee's capacity to handle load. It doesn't replace a medical evaluation, and completing it isn't a return-to-sport clearance.
QUESTIONS
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The weekly tracker handles that. If last week's response says you're not ready, you hold or regress instead of pushing forward. One bad week adjusts the plan, it doesn't reset it.
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Most people spend 30 to 45 minutes per session, three to four sessions a week, moving at the pace their knee allows.
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A free video gives you exercises. This gives you a system: specific load progressions, a way to test your own knee, and a clear signal for when to advance, hold, or back off.
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The program opens with a short self-assessment that places you in the phase that matches how your knee is responding right now.ription
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No, unless you've had a recent injury or your doctor already ordered one. Most anterior knee pain is a load problem, not a structural one.
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Probably. Most PT for knee pain stops at pain relief. This keeps raising what your knee can handle, with a system that tells you when you're ready for more.
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Cartilage responds to graded loading whether the note on your chart says PFJ pain or early arthritis. Check with your doctor first if you've got a diagnosed condition, but the loading logic doesn't change.
Before you start
Get back to training without your knee stopping you.
$197 · Lifetime access
The Patellofemoral Joint Protocol is educational content and does not replace individualized medical care. If you have any of the symptoms listed above, see a physician or physical therapist before beginning this program.