Dealing with this by icing and taking some time off the running.
The physio gave me a bunch of exercises to do, but the thing that helped me the most was the needling. It released all the tension in my muscles that caused the pain, and did it super quick. I think it was only like two sessions before I was good to go again. I would definitely recommend a good physio!
I’ve really liked proper squats on a slant board. Almost cured in a month…maybe.
Leg extensions, the top 2/3 of the range of motion. Need to strengthen the VMO.
Find out what the cause is. PFPS is a garbage term to describe a number of different causes. Time off alone probably wont heal it unless you address the original cause.
Lots of different causes and as a result lots of different solutions and n=1 advice. Your best hope to fixing it quickly is to get a good specialist, find the cause and treat accordingly. Could be the knee, could be the ankle, could be the hip, could be the other leg. Theres really a lot that can affect the proper tracking of the patella and cause insult.
Squats can help, eccentrics can help, dry needling can help, ART can help, correcting form can help, etc etc etc, but won’t know what you need until you can nail the sucker down. After that you’re in a good spot. But my point it don’t just throw everything at it bc youre most likely prolonging the inevitable.
Find someone who will look at your hips, ankles, medial vs lateral quadriceps strength, quality of motion at the patella during quad contractions with foot in air and then with foot locked in the ground (open chain vs closed chain motions play a factor) functional step ups/downs, core strength, core activation during running and single leg activities and then running form as well.
Good luck