Growing Pains – When Should I Be Concerned?
Your child is complaining of leg pain, and you put it down to growing pains...

Specialist Knee Surgeon & Visiting Professor to Leeds Beckett University
Trained at the University of Cambridge
Completed a Yorkshire surgical rotation
Undertook a fellowship year in Australia
Appointed Consultant in Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery at Harrogate District Hospital in 2000
Awarded an honorary consultancy with Harrogate District Foundation Trust in 2022
Continues to contribute to teaching, training, development and research alongside his clinical practice at Yorkshire Knee Clinic
Nick London is an internationally renowned knee surgeon with vast experience in sports injuries, knee arthritis and knee replacement surgery including 25 years as a specialist consultant.
In 2018, he was appointed Visiting Professor to the Leeds Beckett University Carnegie School of Sport in recognition of his work with sports injuries.
Since his appointment as a knee consultant in 2000, Nick has performed many thousands of knee arthroscopy, ligament reconstruction (ACL) and knee replacement surgeries. He achieves excellent results in comparison to national and regional data for both knee replacement surgery and ligament reconstruction.
Partial knee resurfacing: Nick’s experience with partial knee resurfacing (ligament-preserving replacement surgery) is unparalleled in the region, with more than 3,000 procedures completed. He works with the orthopaedic industry to develop, evaluate and teach the latest treatments and techniques for sports and arthritis surgery.
Professional sports injury treatment and prevention: Nick treats members of the Professional Football Association, regularly working with local and regional teams including Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Middlesborough and Hull. He also works closely with amateur, professional and elite athletes from a wide range of sports including regional rugby (league and union), netball, cricket and hockey.
A key opinion leader in sports injuries, Nick has been actively involved in the development and promotion of a knee injury prevention programme (developed in partnership with the Women’s FA) to be introduced across schools.
In 2018, Nick was appointed Visiting Professor to the Leeds Beckett University Carnegie School of Sport in recognition of his work with sports injuries.
Orthopaedic care for the young: Nick provides an expert diagnosis and treatment service for paediatric (children’s) knee injuries and has treated hundreds of ACL injuries in young athletes from across the North of England. He also has a particular interest in managing young, active patients living with arthritis. Advanced reconstructive techniques used in combination with ACL reconstruction surgery have halved the chance of re-injury.
Pain reduction and recovery: Nick works closely with his consultant anaesthetists Dr Jonathan Freeman and Dr Jeremy Charlton in developing techniques to reduce post-operative pain and enhance rapid recovery following knee surgery.
Nick has produced multiple, peer-reviewed publications in the field of knee surgery. His broad research portfolio includes:
Management of ACL injuries in children
Co-developing and promoting knee injury prevention programmes in schools
Partial knee resurfacing
Anatomical gender differences at knee replacement
Minimally invasive knee replacement vs. conventional – RCT (a randomised controlled trial)
Load absorption for knee arthritis
Bilateral simultaneous knee replacement
Patella pressure sensor development to reduce dissatisfaction with knee replacement surgery
He has worked closely with orthopaedic implant companies Enovis, Zimmer Biomet, Arthex, Eventum and Moximed. Consultancy, educational and/or developmental roles with Arthrex, Enovis and Eventum are ongoing.
Nick was delighted to be asked to join the sports medicine research/advisory team at the Carnegie School of Sport (Leeds Beckett University) and has worked with the school to develop a collaborative research programme.
One PhD project to reduce the risk of serious knee injuries in children and adolescents through knee injury prevention programmes has now expanded into a collaborative project involving two further PhD students and a post-doctoral researcher. In collaboration with the Women’s Football Association, the project is studying:
Injury surveillance in schools
How to effectively introduce injury reduction programmes into schools to reduce ACL and other injuries
Psychological assessment and strategic support of children with serious knee injuries
A ‘knee fellowship’ is an attachment to an expert knee consultant with a special interest in the treatment of complex knee conditions. It’s an opportunity for which orthopaedic doctors compete.
Between 1999-2000, Nick spent a year in Brisbane working with two of Australia’s most experienced and renowned knee surgeons.
In 2003 he set up an international fellowship in Harrogate to give senior orthopaedic trainees the opportunity to study knee surgery and be involved in ongoing research and development activities. This is a 6-month fellowship and has now attracted almost 40 knee fellows with local and international backgrounds.
Nick is an active member of the following societies:

Nick is a founder member of The European Knee Society (EKS) – formed in January 2015.
This prestigious society aims to advance knee arthritis surgery and education by bringing together European opinion leaders and holds regular open and closed meetings. Prior to helping to build the European Knee Society, he was an elected member of the European Knee Associates (EKA) from 2011.
Explore helpful articles about knee injuries in children and adolescents, treatment considerations, recovery and returning safely to sport.
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If your child is experiencing persistent knee pain, swelling, instability or difficulty returning to sport, specialist guidance can help you understand what may be wrong and what to do next.
Contact the Paediatric Sports Knee Clinic to arrange an assessment and receive clear, considered advice about the appropriate next steps.

Specialist assessment and evidence-led care for children and adolescents with sports-related knee injuries.
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