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Out of interest, what sort of exercises did your physio have you doing?
I'm in the same boat (suspected, at least), but have also opted to stay off running for most of this year, as even walking causes flair ups.
NotThamesWater-
I was already doing a bunch of stuff when I saw him - I had a routine which comprised unweighted squats, deadlifts, split squats with back leg supported (can’t recall what they’re called), step ups bringing my knee up, loads of bent knee calf raises, glutes and adductors, and core stuff like planks.
His view was that it was all fine, but if I wanted to run then it was all a bit of a waste of time and I should work on running, but do so from the most basic level and make very small increases. The rationale being that I could do all that stuff so it wasn’t an inability to hold a plank for 2 mins rather 1 min or 10 deadlifts of 100kg rather than 50kg that would improve matters.
I think (for me) he was spot on and I really just needed someone to keep me in check. I was doing a couple of weeks of restrained running and then, as all was well, pretty much launch back into the same distance and speed as before, and then injure myself a couple of weeks later.
This approach seems to be working so far….
cookiemonster
Im a few months into a very restrained comeback from a torn meniscus, being guided by a sensible physio. I'd been doing the usual thing of too much too early, and while starting at "run 3k slowly" and increase conservatively, while taking a day off between each run was initially very frustrating, it seems to be working.
I'm now doing a 6 mile fairly relaxed (8 min/mil) pace, 3 mile slower with barefoot shoes, and 5 x 1km intervals at a 20-min 5k pace, with a day off between each. No pains in knee or ankle, everything feeling solid.
I can feel the desire to go run 15 miles or try a <40 10k or something though. Something that I'll (probably) achieve, but then set myself up for problems from ramping to quickly.
Its only taken a lifetime to learn that I cant just carry on as I left off when coming back from an injury, although I've had countless opportunities to learn that lesson