I spoke too soon, kind of. The patella pain is 100% gone, all that is left is a bit of a problem with the VMO muscle - this has happened before but that was related to a tight IT band. Apparently when I hit my knee during the fall that bruised the patella - it also aggravated the VMO.

I've checked out the rehab exercises my osteopath provided and they appear to also be good for strengthening the VMO. I am assuming that the use of a brace wouldn't help this muscle - is this a correct assumption? I've a mountain bike ride planned on Thursday so will be doing whatever I need to do in order to be ready for it. My knee feels MUCH better overall, and I can ride, but I want to take care of this as soon as I can so it won't impact my vacation