Thanks for the links!I'm no expert on meniscal tears, but there doesn't appear to be good evidence that supplements are effective.
http://www.orthop.washington.edu/?q=patient-care/articles/sports/arthroscopic-meniscus-repair.html
I like this website for reading about supplements.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/herb_All.html
Physical therapy?
https://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2...th-care-and-our-love-affair-with-the-scalpel/
These claims appear to be dubious.
http://www.thekneepainguru.com/meniscus-tear-treatment-a-holistic-approach/
I give Costco brand Glucosamine to my old dog, and it seems to perk her up. Then again, it could be that I put the pill in a treat pocket.
Since, I have it on hand, I've tried glucosamine myself on and off, and I can't say that I've noticed a difference. However, I may be younger in comparison, as far as dog years go!
I guess I'll give the joint health supplements a try.
I'm not sure what physical therapy would entail other than what I'm already doing, or plan to do.
My first doc only recommended arthroscopic surgery to relieve pain. Since my pain has more or less disappeared, the trick will be to manage it. I'm seeing the second doc more to see what his opinion is on how to manage it, what sorts of activities he thinks are OK, and what the long-term prognosis is. I doubt very much he'll recommend surgery either in the absence of pain unless he has a more advanced technique than the first doc. My tear wasn't acute, but rather degenerative, and it's small and deep inside, where blood flow is poor, so it doesn't seem like there's much hope for repairing it. I still get a little pop when unbending my knee, but it's very faint now and doesn't happen very much anymore. This is what happened last fall too, when the locking and popping took care of itself over time. So it seems like the sort of thing that can be managed. Three years ago I had something similar in my left knee, and it too got better on its own, although once in a while I still feel a little something there. I've also felt like keeping the hammies and everything else good and stretched helps alleviate knee niggles.
I'm pretty sure running is still out, but I'm holding out for squats. I looked back at my logs and the mileage reporting, and it looks pretty clear that the pain is brought on by running rather than lifting, although it's difficult to be absolutely sure. There's a chance deadlifts are more aggravating than squats, but all the stuff I've read says that squats should be bad for tear, not deadlifts. I've sensed that the initial pull of the deadlift places a lot of compressive force on the knee. By doing SLDLs, I remove much of that force and yet still get a lot of the benefit of conventional deadlifts. Anyway, I'm hoping I can find a Goldilocks balance within the first doc's proscriptions, throw out running, modify the deadlifts, but keep the squats. But I've also read some people say they can run on their meniscus tears no problem (http://hss.edu/onthemove/should-marathon-runners-get-surgery-for-a-torn-meniscus/), so the question might be more of figuring out what the longterm consequences of doing so are. If I'm going to eventually need knee replacement surgery anyway, maybe I should keep running? The difference might be between getting the replacement when I'm 70 instead of 80, and in the meantime, I've enjoyed running and have maintained good cardiovascular health.