I had a knee injury at the end of the season a couple years back. Was diagnosed with MCL, LCL, and meniscus injuries. All of last year I dealt with hot searing pains during certain points in the day, and especially if I would be sitting for extended periods of time. I decided that before this year I would rehab my knee and put myself in a position where I am less susceptible to injury.
Not long after my injury I went to a couple physio sessions where they will give you a short diagnosis based on your response some tests, and the nature of the incident where you hurt yourself.
The process that most physiotherapists follow are usually very similar. After your diagnosis you will probably do a combination of the following;
-Alternating hot/cold immersions of your knee.
-Ultra sound treatment
-Use of electric muscle contractor
-light band resistance training (possibly no resistance depending on severity of injury)
-cycling
IMO physio can be unnessicary past the first session or two. I think it is a good idea to get some sort of professional diagnosis, so one or maybe two sessions will, at the very least point you in the right direction.
Your problem seems to be one of wear and tear, which would be caused by some bad habits over the long term(Correct me if I'm wrong).
Give this video a thorough listen and you will begin to understand some of the ideas as to causes of these chronic pains, and how you can go about your rehab.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fcVy7EEgqNM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Discovering Kelly and his ideas has changed the way I think about my body. You learn about muscle pathways and methods of opening them up to allow proper healing. 3 hours is long, but I highly recommend taking in as much of that information as you can.
If you begin to understand his principles I'm sure you will find yourself looking for more information. I need to recommend his book "Becoming a Supple Leopord", I feel like it is a MUST HAVE for anyone wishing to optimize athletic performance and keep your body uninhibited by injury. The thing I LOVE about his book is that you can literally get more in tune with your body as you work your way through it. Now skiing pain free, with greatly improved balance and awareness of my body positioning.
You can find it here
http://www.roguefitness.com/becoming-a-supple-leopard.php
Bit long, but I felt like I needed to praise the work this guy has been doing to improve all kinds of athletes. Reply or message me if you have any questions about the book or it's contents.
Peaaaaaace,
-Rob
EDIT: Can someone embed?