I agree with lot of what Justin said. Find a sports based physio or doctor and get them to diagnose. When I ruptured my ACL the local doc said "stay off it for a few weeks and take Panadol if it hurts". Sport Physio diagnosed ruptured ACL after about 15 seconds (and was right).

Knee was very unstable but that's to be expected with ligament damage. Obviously it's crazy trying to diagnose you over the Internet but finding a good sports based medico will at least let you know what the problem is and they'll be sympathetic to you desire to return to activity.

One more thing, if you can do so without pain, do everything you can to keep condition in your quads. If you do need surgery, your recovery will be heavily based on rebuilding your quad condition to stabilise your knee. If you don't lose muscle condition you'll have a good head start.

Good luck, and let us know what happens.

'k

I agree with Dr Rio, and I am an orthopaedic surgeon

That history sounds more sinister than the original opinion given. Knee swelling that occurs so severely straight away can be a clue that a major ligament injury, think ACL has occured. Your subsequent history reflects this as well.

You need to be careful with MRI reports. In our practice only a specialist musculoskeletal radiologist reads the films. Not to criticise your management but the point is the MRI or its interpretation are not foolproof.

I strongly encourage you to follow Dr Rios advice and get an Orthopaedic specialist opinion, preferrable one of the sports knee guys.

In terms of rehab if everyone would get on a bike what a wonderful world it would be. While the impact of running tends to upset injured knees, we get anyone with a ligament injury onto the back as soon as they can tolerate it to build quads strength. So get that knee reviewed, and then work in the recovery with your long term training plan

Good luck

Well, if is going to take a while before you see a specialist, is going to be good if you cut down your running like Justin said for example. Try low impact activities like cycling, elliptical machine, or water running.
It is crucial that you keep a strong musculature in your legs, quads and hamstrings because that also helps to keep in line your bum knee.
With the cliking, the deformity, and so on, could be many things, and is going to take some careful examination, hands on, and a good set of films to disclose what is going on. Jacmun is perfectly right!, MRIs are not fool proof, and you might need some new films, maybe a brace, maybe some rehab (almost for sure).
But since you have to wait, because of monetary issues, that happens to everyone, take it easy, look for alternatives to keep your fitness, try some icing, and so on.
Best wishes brother, don´t worry you are a young guy, and with proper care you´ll be as good as new.

sigh.. the future doesnt look good for me.. i just did some research on the internet. this is just one paragraph i found.

Jogging actually is not hard on the knees. A lot of people say, "Oh, it's going to cause arthritis," but running or jogging hasn't been shown to increase the incidence of arthritis. The thing that leads to long-term complications are knee injuries. So, if you've injured the knee and are jogging, then it can be hard on the knee. An injury is one of the biggest predictors of getting arthritis.

i found more but... BOO =***( the last thing i want to do is be my friends dad who had total knee replacement surgery when he was only in his 40s. Hmmm. Well anyways i dont have the money to see a specialist but i am going to go tomorrow to the human performance lab at my college and ask if i can get advice from one of the sports medicine professors or grad assistants or someone who may have more knowledge about an injury related to sports. And thanks everyone for ur advice. I am cutting down my running this week from 5 days to 3 days. Hopefully i can keep it at that. I went for a 5 mile run today and my knee wasnt hurting but i felt the normal jelly blob from it as i was running. it was just a slight annoyance.

I want to stick to running but not cause myself problems in the future. If 5 times of running a week is too much than i might try 3. Anyways hopefully i will hear good news tomorrow and thansk again from everyones advice :)

I wouldn't worry so much about osteoarthritis. You will be more at risk in the future if you don't treat that injury. If you take good care of it, and you are very conservative, there is no reason to worry about osteoarthritis for now. I'm saying for now, because a lot of people above their 40's get osteoarthritis, and it can be a normal wear of the articulations, not necessarily caused by exercise or injuries. It's still manageable. A lot of people are living a normal life even though they have osteoarthritis.
In my opinion, running 3 times a week with an injured knee is still too much. You need to give a break to your knee, for it to heal properly. Listen to your body, take it easy, and go see a doctor as soon as you can.
Good luck!

the athletic trainer at my college suggested a supplement GLUCOSAMINE . it is found in cartilage and may help prevent arthritis. the one i found has msm and something else in it. I havent noticed a difference yet but i am taking this to help. I thought other runners may want to take it too if you want to be on the safe side. it is safe and you can buy it at walmart. :)

Hey---yes, absolutely, If there is any supplements we athletes should be taking is Glucosamine and chondroiton--theyv are usually one tablet with both supps in each 1500/1200 daily is the usual recommendation. I started with them at age 43 and I am now 52 and just have mild OA. They now have the supplement Gluc/Chond with Hyaluronic Acid added. Also good for helping with the cartilage cushioning. I'm the babe who is getting my firt HA Iinjection next week (hyaluronic Acid) By the way, I am an over-the-top athlete and this is my first "issue" . I had my first surgey this summer-torn meniscus and this OA is probably a result of the debriding of the cartilage. Yes, see a sports Doc--there are some great ones around--Try one who treats lots of college athletes. This is a great site!!