It pops a little, but nothing like it did last fall when I had what I thought was a hammie strain from deadlifting. At that time, I had to massage the quad just above the knee to unlock it.
The doc didn't have any idea about what caused the tear. Might just be getting old. Might be an active lifestyle most of my adult life, as you suggest. Might be the heavy deadlifts last summer. He said it wasn't recent. Seems like the minor knee issues I've had over the last few years when getting back into running have probably been this. I had what I thought was a sore MCL on my left knee almost three years ago. Now I'm thinking that might be the same issue over on that side. But the fact that I've been able to run pain-free most of the time makes it hard to accept that the best thing to do is to give up running. But I will gladly give up mostly pain-free running now in order to be able to walk pain-free 20 years from now, if that's what's at stake. I definitely don't want to do anything that will make it worse, or make it degrade faster. It's just kind of shocking to be confronted with this sort of old age issue all of a sudden. I thought I had at least another 20 years before I would have to start thinking about this stuff. Meanwhile my four-year-old son jumps from a six-foot rock into the sand no problem.
I was so confident yesterday, my knee was feeling better and I thought the doc would tell me he didn't see anything. Still, there's plenty I can do to stay in shape without stressing out the knee. Maybe I'll become really good at Good Mornings and Rack Pulls. I've also been reading a bit and some people think squats can actually be therapeutic, so there's a lot to look into. I hope my insurance will cover a visit to the experts my friend knows. I should be able to transfer the MRI to them, so even if I have to pay out-of-pocket, it will just be a consultation.
I thought the longterm prognosis for your shoulder was good? I know about the double whammy though, with my shingles and knee, and a lingering dry cough for the last few weeks too. Wait, that's a triple whammy. At least everything is improving this week. I thought you could still do presses and pullups, right? I'm already thinking about changing to some kind of upper/lower split, with the lower a mix of rowing, cycling/stairmaster, and light weights on Tuesday and Thursday, and maybe a longer bike ride on the weekends. For the upper, I could add in some more assistance. Still, it will be very hard to say good-bye to that incredible feeling you get from heavy squats and deadlifts, especially after having discovered that thrill so recently. Oh well, life goes on. It's not cancer . . .
It is difficult to know how much it will affect later in life, or what happened before is affecting us now. It seems that recreational biking is an easy one that most people can enjoy very late in their lives. Barring any accidents. But running isn't that clear especially since we are on the heavier spectrum? However I completely understand your sentiment. I also don't want to have to limp down the stairs when I am in my 50s because of my stubbornness.
Definitely get another opinion especially if surgery is at stake. Who knows maybe next week you can resume most things at a reduced level. Obviously if it happened long ago you have figured out a way to compensate for it.
I really don't know about the long term prognosis for my shoulder. Now I am at the point where I can do a pushup but after about 5 the whole joint gets very weak and unstable. I can do light one arm presses, but doing a real press was still painful last time I tried. I may try to get out there tonight to see if the bench and press are coming along. I might also switch over to incline presses as I've read they are a little easier after injuries. Rows are all pretty much back to normal I don't have any issues except for one armed rows. I just get worried about developing the rows too much?
I'm curious about trying out some deadlifts too. It seems like that small motion shouldn't be an issue for my knee. Again its the eccentric motion that aggravates it more than anything.
Oh by the way I also read uphill sprints can be a good thing with meniscus tears. I wonder if you can keep those up in your split. An yeah splits are pretty much all you can do now. I guess we should just embrace it and go with it, make it a little less tough to swallow.