i had a chat with cyborg4life because he did internal tibias
he had his procedure done i belive 8 years ago and reports he is free of knee pain
he attributed it to being religious with his physio
to the best of my judgment: wait until after the removal of the rods. (obvs due to the retrauma to the patellar tendon)
based on what ive seen with cosmetic plastic surgery. the body takes a long time for the swelling to go down. for example if you get an implant in your face or get your nose done. you will have swelling for months before it "sets in". so having pain 1 -2 years post op i wouldn't consider to be the realm of chronic just yet. i would love to hear some updates from members like myevolution to update on the condition of their knees
i tried looking up studies about anterior knee pain and tibial nailing, however most studies were done on trauma patients so i dont know if that will have and effect on the results
anyways
while no one can guarentee that you wont get it, i belive you can lower your risks by being diligent with your pt long after youre finished consolidation. once youve had your nails removed, perhaps getting PRP treatment or running hgh for a couple months will help reduce the amount of scar formation.