I had an examination by a physiotherapist and he said that my ligaments are fine, especially the ACL that I was worried about as I have had it damaged in the past, but he assured me that it was intact; how much accurate his diagnosis was I'm not sure as after I had injured my knee the first time the diagnosis from a physio was also that the ACL was ok, but I ended up having an MRI scan and subsequently surgery, and it had all taken about 5 months till I finally had it sorted(ish, as you can see), although I didn't try any herbal remedies or natural therapies. Maybe I should try them this time. I haven't been to an orthopedist yet, because I know that, just like you said, he would only suggest exploratory surgery.