I'm in a slightly different place, but for me the choices are either ride - with pain, or not ride - with pain. And while riding (especially off-road) increases the pain a little, it doesn't cause any further damage and the enjoyment for me is worth the increase in discomfort (most of the time). So sometimes your body just has to reach a compromise with your heart.

However, if the pain is due to further damage or causes you to do something that might cause further damage (change in form, balance, etc.) my way doesn't work.

I'll also point out that I took a lot of time getting back fully off-road - I stuck to jeep roads, etc. for awhile so I could get that exploratory, outdoor-woodsy feeling without anything too technical. I had to learn my limits and figure out my relationship to what hurt, first.