Knee pain after exercise

Hello,

I wonder if I can get some advice. I'm a male, age 30 and have been playing football and squash for years now.

I used to get on no problem. I've had a few injuries over the years, strained ankle ligaments, shin splints.

Recently however (the past few months) whenever I play football my knees are in agony after a few minutes.

They then swell up and are in agony when I get home. The next day it is hard for me to walk and difficult to climb stairs. It normally eases off in a few days but my knees feel weak and fragile. And I even get slight pain just walking.

It just seems to be pain right on the kneecap and it swells up just below there.

They flare up whenever I play sports, which is really annoying me as I want to stay fit.

I have been to my doctor several times now and he told me to take ibuprofen and am now waiting for a physio appointment which is taking forever.

Any advice, ideas what it is would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, John