Torn Meniscus - Surgery or not

Yes I have done MANY menisectomies on people in your age group who have done well.  The confounding factors are 1- how much meniscus needs to be removed and 2- if you have arthritis as well.  People who have arthritis in the face of a meniscus tear don't do as well as those who don't have arthritis with a meniscus tear.  The danger of doing nothing are 1-you can extend the tear and 2-when the tear flips in and out of your knee it can tear up the cartilage on the ends of the bone.  Its a pretty easy surgery and a small investment on your part in the grander scheme of surgeries.  Feel free to PM me with more questions if you have them

I had a lateral tear in one knee at age 48, caused by rotational force. I very seldom had any kind of hitch in the joint, but I too could not run, and cycling with any significant resistance was also uncomfortable. The surgeon and a physical medicine doc I know recommended I try PT and low resistance repetitive motion (elipitcal, low resistance cycling) for a period to see if symptoms subsided. I had gradual improvement, and was fully recovered after about 4 months. I have trained for and completed 3 IM races since then with no issue. I know three other old guys who had tears who took my approach - two avoided surgery, one could not (and meanwhile wasted time time arriving at the conclusion). I know other middle-agers who went straight for the surgery, and all seem to have gotten a good result. Time will tell, however, if they experience any longer term issues related to the removal of the cartilage (which is one of the downsides of partial meniscectomy).

You might find the following web site helpful or interesting:

http://www.howardluksmd.com/sports-medicine/meniscus-tears-why-surg...

Good luck with whatever approach you take.