This is such a good illustration of the difference in ortho surgeon's recommendations for PT. Mine had me in physical therapy before my first knee replacement just so I could learn the exercises, then on both knees he wrote orders for a physical therapist to come to my house three times a week until I could drive. That lasted about 3 weeks. Then, I went to outpatient PT until my 12 week milestone the first time. The second time, I was doing great at 8 weeks so I was able to stop there. Personally, I'm with @randythehack - I believe the PT contributed a tremendous amount to my recovery. Part of it was just having a "coach" to keep me going and tell me when I was pushing myself too hard and when I needed to stretch a little. I know some doctors are not big on PT, some physical therapists are very aggressive, and some are gentle. It's confusing. But in your case, it does sound as if you might be pushing your recovering knee a little too hard for 5 weeks. Could you try an experiment, rest this weekend, then let us know if the patella pain goes away?