In North Hollywood, CA

How To Stop Chronic Knee Pain Without Injections Or Painkillers

Don’t sacrifice the active lifestyle you love over a problem that can be fixed. At Strike Physiotherapy & Performance, we help you eliminate knee pain at its source, so you can get back to running, lifting, competing, and living without limits.

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Dr. Levan Akopov
PT, DPT, CSCS
Founder of Strike Physiotherapy & Performance
From Your Therapist

A Message From A Licensed Physical Therapist

If you’re living with bad knees, whether they’re painful, stiff, or they just ache, it’s easy to brush it off as “something that comes with age” or a bit of “wear and tear” that’ll go away on its own.

You can’t quite figure out why your knees hurt, but one thing is clear: it’s not getting any better.
"Why Is This Happening To Me?", And "Why Am I Still Dealing With Knee Pain After Months Of Putting Up With It?"

Most people assume their knee pain will eventually ease off and disappear. They think they’ll wake up one morning and, like magic, the pain will be gone. But then six months later, they’re still living with the same discomfort, often worse than when it started.

Another common scenario: you visit your doctor, and they tell you to “rest,” hand you a prescription for painkillers, and say “come back in six weeks if it’s not better.” Six weeks later, you’re back in the same office, with the same pain, being given even stronger pills and maybe a knee brace.

Maybe you’ve been told conflicting advice by different people. Rest more. Walk more. Do this exercise. Don’t do that exercise. It becomes incredibly confusing, and that confusion leads to procrastination. Worse, it leads people to simply accept knee pain as “part of life,” as if it’s normal or has to be that way.

Sound Familiar?

7 Reasons Your Knee Pain Is Lasting Longer Than It Should

If any of these have happened to you, that’s actually a good thing, because when you know what doesn’t work, you’re one step closer to finding what does.
1
You assumed the pain would go away on its own, but weeks turned into months and it only got worse.
2
Your doctor prescribed rest and painkillers, but the pills just masked the pain, and it came right back once they wore off.
3
A family member or friend told you “everyone gets knee pain as they age”, so you accepted it as something you’d have to live with.
4
You sought help from other healthcare professionals or a physical therapist in the past, but nothing they said or did seemed to make a real difference.
5
You’ve tried knee braces and supports, but they did nothing to actually reduce the pain or fix the underlying problem.
6
You rested after severe pain and swelling, but the knee still bothers you every single day, especially going up and down stairs.
7
You tried exercises from YouTube or social media, but they either hurt when you did them, or did absolutely nothing to ease the pain.

Want To Talk To A PT For Free?

Book a discovery call to get expert advice on your knee pain. No obligation, no pressure, just honest guidance on what to do next.
What Actually Works

4 Things You Can Do To Get Rid Of Knee Pain

01

Make The Decision To Get Help

Too many people wait weeks or months, hoping the pain will magically disappear. Six months down the line, nothing has changed, or it's gotten worse. The sooner you take action, the faster and more completely you'll recover.

02

Do The Right Exercises

Not random YouTube stretches, but a series of properly progressed, targeted exercises prescribed by a physical therapist who understands your specific knee problem. The right exercises reduce pain, restore mobility, and prevent the issue from coming back.

03

Address Your Movement Habits

Your knees weren't designed for the positions modern life puts them in, prolonged sitting, poor squat mechanics, and awkward movement patterns. Strengthening exercises combined with movement coaching can make a dramatic difference in how your knees feel daily.

04

Get Hands on Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is proven to help people with knee pain. At Strike PT, it's one of the most common issues we treat with active adults and athletes. If knee pain is stopping you from training, competing, or enjoying time with family, PT can get you back to the life you deserve.

Why Strike PT

Why Strike PT Is Different From Everywhere Else

At Strike Physiotherapy & Performance, we don’t run you through a generic protocol and send you on your way. Every session is one on one with a licensed physical therapist, a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist who personally evaluates your knee, analyzes your movement, and builds a plan designed for your specific problem and goals.

We know that knee pain is different for everyone. A runner dealing with patellofemoral syndrome needs a completely different approach than a lifter with a meniscus issue or a combat athlete recovering from an ACL injury. That’s why cookie cutter protocols fail, and why our personalized approach succeeds. In fact, “runner’s knee” alone covers three separate injuries — we break down how to tell them apart and why the rehab differs.

We don’t just treat the knee in isolation. We look at your entire kinetic chain, your hip mobility, ankle stability, core strength, and movement mechanics, to find the real root cause of why your knee hurts. Then we fix it at the source, not just at the symptom.

From your first assessment to your last session, we’re working together, and we don’t stop until you’re not just pain free, but performing better than before.

With Us, You'll Get Back To:

What Our Clients Say

Real People. Real Results.

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michael jackson profile picture
michael jackson
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I had a wonderful experience working with Levan after my knee replacement. My knee is so much stronger now, l am back to my normal activities with confidence. Highly recommend!
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Kaden
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Levan really helped me a lot with working out and correcting my posture and concerns that I had. He didn’t just teach me the correct ways of using workout equipment but also educated me along the way. He made sure to leave me with good knowledge to take after the sessions ended. He put a lot of time with making sure I was doing the correct exercises so that I could fix my problems. If you’re really serious, Levan is the right guy to go to.
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Gillian Terzis
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I highly recommend Levan for PT! His deep knowledge and expertise have been invaluable: he quickly diagnosed the root cause of my ankle injury, and developed a personalized rehab program that has helped me return to running much sooner than I expected. His sessions are motivating and rewarding, and have helped me understand the importance of overall body strength for injury prevention.
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Jeremy Westin
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Best and most knowledgeable and practical PT you will ever see. Will get to the bottom of the true causes of your pain or limitations and then will develop and guide you through a plan of attack to build back strength, stability and pain-free movement. Will create custom videos and an app-based plan to help you continue progressing between sessions. You get the full hour and it’s all 1:1.
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Michele Locker
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I’m a 58-year-old woman with a total left hip replacement with back pain. Strike is the only place I felt like I have been gaining strength and getting back to my old self. You might say it’s expensive and it is. I’ve been to quite a few PTs and private gyms. This is a personalized curated experience.
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Bagrat Safarian profile picture
Bagrat Safarian
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This is where I got a relief of my shoulder pain. First time in many years and after trying many other places!
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Bagrat Safarian
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This is where I got relief of my shoulder pain. First time in many years and after many places I tried!
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Melkis Rosado
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I came in with extreme lower back pain after a wrong stretch. Levan was able to give me a quick assessment over the phone based on how I was feeling and the pain I was in. I came in and he was just as detailed and attentive as over the phone. I took the first session with him for an evaluation and I was sold after. Great customer service and knowledgeable therapist. I highly recommend
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Greg Hamilton
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Last year I went back to the gym to get in shape. Everything was going well until I started to develop pain in my right shoulder. It got so bad I thought I was going to have to stop. Fortunately through researching Physio Therapists in my area, I came across Levan at Strike. He not only put together a program to work on my shoulder, he also partnered with my trainer at the gym. This enabled me to get my shoulder pain resolved, but allowed me to continue at the gym! Levan is a fantastic Physio Therapist! I highly recommend him.
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Sabrina Zohar
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My partner and I workout 3X a week with Levan and I don't think words describe how happy we are to have found him!! The space is beautiful and Levan genuinely cares and really pays attention to your body and overall performance. We have a ton of injuries and he ensures each workout is tailored around them without activating the injury. I genuinely can't speak highly enough of him and strike, if you're waiting to book let this be your sign to do so!!!
Our Process

Strike's 3 step Process to Get You Back to Your Best

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Step 1

Find The Real Cause
We’ll take you through a comprehensive biomechanical assessment, identify the root cause of your problem, and explain exactly what it takes to get you back to full speed.
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Step 2

Fix Your Problem Areas
We’ll build a personalized treatment plan tailored to your specific needs and goals, getting you stronger, pain free, and on track to reach your goals faster.
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Step 3

Unlock Peak Performance
After eliminating your pain, we’ll elevate your performance beyond pre injury levels and bulletproof your body against future setbacks.
Faq's

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you treat knee pain without surgery?

In most cases, yes. The majority of knee conditions — including patellar tendonitis, IT band issues, meniscus irritation, and even many ligament injuries — respond extremely well to targeted physical therapy. Surgery is rarely the only option, and we’ll always exhaust conservative care first.

Yes. We work with patients recovering from ACL reconstructions, meniscus repairs, and other knee surgeries, as well as those trying to avoid surgery altogether. We tailor every program to your sport or activity, so you return at full capacity  not just pain free.

In most cases, yes. We’ll modify your mileage and intensity as needed, but completely stopping is rarely necessary or helpful. We’ll address the biomechanical issues driving your pain so you can build back up safely and stronger than before. For the detail behind that — including how to tell which of the three runner’s knee injuries you’re dealing with — see our guide to runner’s knee pain.

Absolutely worth trying. Many patients who’ve been told they need a knee replacement see major improvements with the right rehab program and avoid or significantly delay surgery. We’ll give you an honest assessment of whether conservative care can work for you.

The principles are the same, but the demands are different. For athletes and active adults, we don’t just get you out of pain we rebuild your knee’s capacity to handle the loads your sport requires, whether that’s sprinting, jumping, lifting, or fighting.