Doing ‘too much, too soon’ may be a key reason you develop or continue to have knee cap pain. That's why managing load is very important. The best way to tell if you are doing 'too much, too soon' is by monitoring pain levels during and after exercise. Generally, if you have a large increase in pain or pain that stays increased for more than 24 hours after exercise it might be 'too much'. By avoiding varied and rapid increases in exercise quantity and instead gradually building up it can help to improve pain levels.