Bad Knees, Any Suggestions?

So here's the problem, with a combination of inflammatory arthritis and undersized knee caps (both doctor diagnosed) I have a tendency to get knee problems.  The orthopedic doctor told me specifically that it would be a bad idea to take up running or jogging, but walks might be alright, oh and definitely no stair/stepper exercises... I figured great, a walk I can fit into the limited time I have for exercising (I have about an hour a day that I can fit it into).  Unfortunately, despite starting slow and gradually increasing the distance/time I was walking, my knee problems started showing up again.

Now I'm sure my knee problems will be better once I've lost some of this weight (I had far less of them 5 years ago when I was about 50lbs lighter than I am right now, but that was also before the onset of my arthritis), but I would really like to be able to add some exercise to my diet so that I can get in better shape over all and not just thinner.  I do have a couple ankle weight exercises the doctor gave me to help with my knees, and they do help, but they don't seem to be enough to counteract the walking.

Oh, and I did try cycling since it's lower impact, but there isn't a lot of road around where I live that I'm comfortable cycling in at dusk or later (I cover more ground cycling then walking, and there's a lot of tractor-trailor traffic on my road) which gives me about 1-2 months out of the year where this is feasible.

So here comes my question.  Given my history, does anyone have any good suggestions for an exercise(s) that's low impact on the knees and can be done at home so that I can fit it reliably into my schedule? I want to be able to do this at least every other day.  Or am I just going to have to resign myself to waiting until I've lost some more weight before I can try exercising again?

Edit: Oh, and since it's related, I've heard a lot lately in magazines and such about fish oil capsules for the Omega 3s to reduce inflammation.  My arthritis is mostly under control now with limited medication, in part due to some dietary and locational changes, but does anyone here have personal experience with the fish oil helping in something like this?  I know the chiropractor I see once or twice a year also handles supplements, should I discuss the fish oil with him does anyone think?

i'm assuming since you said "at home" you dont have a gym membership?  i have bad knees too (tendonitis) and i found that the elliptical machine is fairly low impact.. but if you are looking for something at home then i can only think of walking...

No, I don't have a gym membership. I live pretty much in the country, and unfortunately the nearest gym is over a half hour away.  And right now I don't have the finances to buy my own elliptical or whatnot (just had to replace my car), though I'm considering saving up for something if I can find something worth buying.

There is a stand you can get to change a regular bike into a stationary bike, which would allow you to work out at home.  I saw that on another thread here not too long ago but can't remember the name.  Also, something like pilates is also good, although not terribly aerobic.  Good for strenghtening muscles - especially your core.  You can likely get a video from your library.

Good luck - hope your knees improve!

I hadn't thought of turning my bike into a stationary, that'd be great! I'll have to take a look for one of those.  I've never done Pilates so I wasn't sure how that would be, but I'll check it out.

Thanks so much, everything I could think of (swimming etc) just didn't seem feasible, but these I could manage.  And I really hope my knees improve as well.  It's frustrating because when I was younger I used to horseback ride a lot, and after the initial arthritis problems and weight gain, spending much time in the saddle just killed my knees (I rode English, I don't know how it would have been Western).

The doctor said if I got the weight back off and ideally about 10-15lbs more (I was a bit chubby even before this) my knees should improve because of the simple fact that less weight means less stress on the joints.  The key for me is finding a way to loose the weight and gain strength/flexibility at the same time.

Hi,  I have arthritis in my knees as well.  Its started when I was 10 and I have it mostly under control when I keep my weight down and strength train.  Its really important to build the muscles in your legs to support your knees.  Squats, lunges and deadlifts are a tremendous help.  You can do these things at home, first without any weight until you feel comfortable with form.  Then you can add weights by using milk jugs filled with water.  When thats too easy fill them with sand and so on.  Pretty much go find some heavy things and pick them up using good form.  When I keep my legs strong and active I have virtually no problems.

So pretty much any leg strengthening exercises are going to help in someway then, aren't they?  The doc has me doing forward leg lifts at the knee when sitting with the ankle weights in order to strengthen a certain muscle group in the thigh to help keep my knee caps properly aligned.  I've been doing those, but I know just that isn't going to work the rest of my leg muscles.

I think part of the reason I have/had trouble knowing what to do was that I've never really been into exercise as such, it was always an activity such as doing sports (softball, swimming and horseback riding over the years) or gardening or some such.  Now that I'm trying to actively exercise it's a little overwhelming when you see so many options out there, but have certain physical considerations to make.  And I know the best thing for me would probably be to join a gym and get a trainer to help me set something up, but with a lack of time and money I'm trying to sort things out on my own.  Thankfully there are people who have done it before with similar problems to help me figure things out. 

i have a similar prob, my knee doesnt track properly and hyperextends (basically popping out.. its awful) so i cant run, walk too fast, do the eliptical, after rehab i can barely do the bike without pain so i totally understand. i have a pool and its been ok for low impact cardio but thats about it.. so i feel like i have to do this with weights and diet until my knee hopefully gets strong enough to handle a little impact. I was advised also to try pilates, oh and yoga does help with general resting knee comfort, i do rodney yees a.m. yoga every day (easy)