I know a rider with bone on bone in both knees. He takes a lot of ibuprofen when he wants to ride, and rides in a low gear at a high cadence. So is the severe pain from the meniscus or the arthritis? I've had a torn meniscus and yes, the pain was severe. I had an operation to snip the meniscus, no more pain. My knees seem to have relatively normal cartilage. Is your doctor an orthopedic surgeon? If not, get an appointment with one for evaluation. Do you know how you tore the meniscus? Since the pain was sudden in onset, my guess is that it's the meniscus tear. And how bad is your cartilage?
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