Question
Hi, Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.
My knees have suddenly started cracking and popping...  The right one has been worse but now the left is getting worse, possibly from taking most of my weight while I try to go easy on the right one.  I didn't do anything out of the ordinary to them, they just started doing it a couple weeks ago with no injury or strange behavior.  I'm not very active either.  I was in a motorcycle accident a year or so ago but didn't damage my knees to my knowledge, though my groin muscles got pulled/damaged and I wonder if they could be pulling me out of alignment somehow? (I've been reading online trying to figure out what could be wrong.)  I got X-rays done and the doctor said he couldn't see anything wrong with my knee (it was only the right one at the time.)  The more I walk on it the worse it gets, and I can barely climb stairs.  The pain seems all over my knee, maybe under the cap someplace and is sensitive to the touch just above the kneecap.
I've read to ice and elevate it, but also the opposite with new studies saying that ligaments (assuming that's what it is?) need heat and circulation lacking the blood vessels that muscles have...  I'm at a loss and don't have the funds to get a CT scan to see if there are any tears in there.  I've never had the best knees in the world, they always felt a little weak and had pain from time to time but at this rate I wont be able to walk in a matter of months.  So..  I turn to you for any advice you may have.
Thanks again for any help you can provide.

Answer
It sounds as if there could be a muscle imbalance pulling the knees out of balance.  You may want to find a chiropractor too asses the spine, and also the knees and ankles...they all can play a part.  I am a big fan of heat, and that will do well to increase the circulation, and help ease some of the pain