I wish I could tell you which way to pull on the giant rubber band, but since neither one of us knows what’s wrong I might be doing more harm than good.
I would recommend seeing a sports medicine Dr. and tell him you will not consider surgery as an option, but would like to know what is wrong and to address the problem with rehab as best as possible. He will likely send you to a physical therapist that will show you how to do exercises to correctly address your problem. You do the rehab at your house.

A little background:

I am 55 and have had two knee surgeries, one on each knee. Right for torn meniscus, about a month of rehab and I was good to go, that was about 12 years ago, no problems since. Left was initially diagnosed as the same but was actually the cartilage worn to the bone, ~6 months rehab, knee is probably ~80-85%; good enough, that was about 6 years ago.

Currently have issues with my rotator cuff, tibial band (thigh), back and planter fasciitis (feet). I do about 30 minutes of rotating rehab daily to keep all that in check. I may sound pretty beat up but I am actually in really good shape, just need keep up with my ongoing “rehab”.

My problem was (is) that I was very active, played lots of basketball when I was younger (till my early 40s), lots of running, karate, a few other assorted sports and can’t forget cycling. Just wear and tear, I can live with that.

I run a bit, do lots of walking, hiking, camping and all the cycling I can manage. I am mow my own yard, trim my own trees, work on my cars, etc….

Don’t think I would have figured it all out on my own.