Knee/Kneecap pain and crunching, no swelling - physio for 8 months already

Hello,

I have been dealing with knee pain for 8 months now. I'm still waiting on an MRI, but the current theories are some combination of a meniscus tear and/or cartilage damage under my knee cap. The first theory was just a knee cap that didn't track properly, but as the grinding and crunching hasn't improved, they don't seem to think that is the case anymore. My knee crunches when I go up and down stairs or do squats etc. I've been working on strengthening my VMO and glutes, but the biggest challenge I'm having is that I can't do weight-bearing exercises without pain. I've had one physiotherapist recommend that I try and just push through the pain to do more physio (squats and step downs). I've had others tell me to avoid anything that cause pain. I'm looking for any suggestions I can get. I'm a really avid hiker, and I'm desperate to get back outside. If it will help, I'm more than willing to push through a little bit (not a lot!) of pain to do more activities. But I also don't want to make things worse.