Question
Gary
I am 55, overweight but not obese. In spite of weight lifting and running on my treadmill,  three years ago I suffered a torn meniscus. After putting it hoping it would heal, I am due for arthroscopic surgery soon.
Is my running over? Other than losing weight, can an older guy strengthen his knee joints? Thanks!

Answer
Hello Bud,

Sorry to hear about the meniscus.  The good news is that the surgery is usually pretty successful in my experience, but is often takes a little while for you to get back to full use.  The meniscus doesn't have any blood vessels that directly connect to it, so it gets it's nutrients from the synovial fluid in the knee joint.  So lots of "no resistance" stationary bicycle riding will be a wonderful thing to get that meniscus to heal quickly.

I wouldn't say "running is over," but for every additional pound you weigh it's 5 to 10 pounds of additional impact pressure when you run (varies with running style).  Feet and ankles take some of that impact, but knees are next in line, so they take some of it too.

That said, AFTER your meniscus heals, I would think it would be more important to keep your knees free and functional, than to "strengthen" them.  You want all the muscles and tissues around the joint to be able flex, release and relax the way they are meant to, so your meniscus isn't being negatively affected when you run.  If you do this, I think you'll be able to run again (and losing a little weight will help too).

I explain more of this on my completely free website, Do-It-Yourself-Joint-Pain-Relief,
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/
where I have videos for every single joint in the body.

I'm going to recommend you go to my Knee Joint Pain Relief page,
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/knee-joint-pain-relief.html#.UuU
and follow along with the videos.  Do some of the techniques now, and notice where and how your knee is tight.  That inappropriate tension is what you'll want to release, so your joint lines up properly and has the appropriate space and freedom to function in the way a knee was designed to function.  This will help to keep your repaired meniscus in good shape.

Hope this was helpful.

All the best,
Gary Crowley