Knee / Ankle injury

Ok, there is kind of a long history but want to start from the beginning.

I play football (5 a side and 11's) and squash. When I was at uni i was playing football every day and squash maybe once a week.

3 Main episodes:

1) Once playing 5 a side I sustained an injury to my RIGHT knee - was stopping and twisting from full speed and my knee "went". Next day it was very swollen. Went to GP who gave me crutches and suggested RICE etc. I was on crutches for about 10 days and started playing football again about 1 month after injury. Played for a while using a neoprene knee support and all seemed to be ok after a few months and a couple of niggles. I suspect now with hindsight that it was some kind of ligament / cartilage strain.

2) Two years later, I sustained a similar injury to my LEFT knee although i could tell that this one was worse. 4 months later (June 07) after having MRI etc I had surgery to reconstruct my ACL and sort out some cartilage tear (bucket handle tear to [i think] medial meniscus - not completely certain). Had physio up until Jan 08 which went really well.

3) End on Jan 08 I started playing football again. Played 11-a-side and felt great. The next day, i played 5-a-side and a similar thing happened AGAIN to my RIGHT knee as in 1). Again didn't feel as serious as what happened to my left. This time, the swelling wasn't that bad and I played football again about 10 days later with my knee quite heavily strapped. Whilst playing, I felt a slight twinge in my right knee but carried on (i know, i know!!). In the same game, my right calf started to tighten and I finally stopped playing when I went over on my right ankle.

The next day, my ankle had swollen massively having kept me awake all night. I went to A&E, had an xray which revealed nothing was broken. This was coupled with a numbness of the skin on the top of my ankle. Went to see a GP who suggested this was nerve damage - rest and pain killers and should start to return in the next few weeks.

I gave it a good rest for a few weeks then carried on playing the odd game of football. After each game my ankle was slightly sore and my right knee would swell up - it was slightly discomforting but not enough to stop me playing. I gave this up at the end of april and rested it completly until the end of June when I started running. Throughout this time my ankle has been mostly ok - skin is still slightly numb and has the potential to flare up easily if I go over on it but hasn't been a real issue. My knee has felt ok but occassional will "click" and cause a sharp pain which subsides at times when I am my knee is twisting whilst bent (eg changing direction quickly whilst walking etc).

About week later, in a bizarre incident, I was mooring a canal boat - my knees were bent and I was pulling the boat into the bank (I was obviously twisting) - my RIGHT knee flared up again. It was swollen for a few days and now there has been a constant but dull pain, it feels like it is in the outside of the knee, just on the outside of the kneecap. When I draw my heel towards my buttocks, that is when I feel the pain get sharper. It does not really hamper my walking and I have a fairly good range - almost full extension (just can't quite lock out and achieve full definition in my quad), flexion is affected a bit more but not much. Beyond that - i've not tried running and I know other sport is out of the question.

I need to see a GP and get a referral for either physio or a specialist but I was wondering if anyone has any tips / advice in the meantime. Also, I was wondering how related the two injuries (right ankle and knee) are? I I know there are tissues in the ankle which also cross the knee, but my anatomy is not that good! Do you think my knee injury has caused / contributed the ankle one?

I mentioned the left knee injury to explain why my right knee might have been more vulnerable and also I have the experience of what an ACL tear feels like. My right knee does not feel like that - it is a lot more stable than when my left was injured and it is also alot less debilitating (i was using crutches and a knee brace for a long time before the operation on my left)

Thanks for sticking with me - I appreciate this has become a very long post! I just wanted to explain my full history which may help you experts in speculating what the problem may be and how best to fix / deal with it. I've not been playing football regularly for 18 months now (since my left knee injury) and it's driving me insane. Being mid 20's now, i'm concerned my best years are behind me and doubt i'll ever get back to the level I used to play at. At least i'll have the story every other old ex footballer has (could have been a pro if it wasn't for the old knee injury!!)

Cheers!