“Why does my knee hurt when it's cold or when I sit?”

It is a good possibility that you may have a problem with your patella. Need to have further study. Physical examination, X-ray, and MRI.

It is quite a known fact knees are like barometers. Patients can tell if the weather changes due to a change in the temp in the knee circulation (nerve endings). So, you can indeed experience pain in the knee joint. You know this, so make sure you keep your knee warm, such as with a neoprene knee brace or warm leggings. If you are a man, wear long johns. Sitting for prolonged time also can affect the circulation. Make sure you are walking/stretching every 5-10 minutes in the hour. You may have some arthritis, so it’s best to see a sports doctor or physiatrist for a complete examination of the range of motion of your knee joint. Just make sure, if it’s cold, be sensible and keep your knees warm. Even warming up a small hand towel in the microwave and wrapping it around your knees increases the circulation. You can also get wraps which you can put in the microwave. Just keep your knees warm. Don’t suffer. Be sensible.

Thanks for the question. With limited subjective information, it is difficult to accurately diagnose your problem. I would suspect it is muscular in nature. If you had a history of traumatic injury, your problem could be worse than muscular. You could try simple hamstring and calf stretching on your own. If this makes it worse or does not get better, I would recommend and evaluation. If you have private insurance, you can make a physical therapy appointment without a doctor's referral. I would be more than happy to evaluate it and give you more specific advice. Lynn