Sudden onset of anterior knee pain - ideas for recovery and for avoiding it in the future

I’ve had a sudden onset of anterior knee pain - sharp pain in the front of my knee and around the knee cap when bending my knee. No change to my bike position and no impact to the knee (that I can remember!).
Apart from resting, icing and elevating, has anyone got any suggestions for things I can do to aid recovery? Also, any suggestions for things I can do to reduce the risk of this happening again in the future?

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I will say i have had this type of pain from tights quads. Usually this time of year trying to ramp up. I will say I have had a slightly different type of pain that was tight Hamstrings. Think like a PT. Cover this stuff just to find out. I am lazy usually try 1 at a time. That has helped me dial things in over the years however. You mention sharp pain. Definitely take it serious. If you been ramping up time for a recovery week. Think back also to the smallest things that might have changed your setup. Good luck happy riding!

Happens to me periodically, always because I didn’t stretch my quads or do glute activation. I find if I spend 5-10 minutes before a ride doing some activation (there’s a good 10 minute routine on Alex Dowsett’s YouTube channel), then I never have knee issues. My only recommendation in the short term, is to take a little time off, then gradually start to test your knee. Heal up soon.