to my understanding OA is worse from over working the joints? I have OA had it for years, and yes I am in pain from household chores allso .. what I do is rest inbetween house hold jobs, if you wash clothes , and pick up things in the house rest a few munites .. don`t over work the joints.. you have to get to know your limit of how much you can do..
I don`t exercise other then some walking daily. thats because my OA has got so bad that the pain can put me down for 3 days. pain meds don`t work very well for me and my DR don`t want to put me on stronger meds I am sure because i will need stronger meds later on... hope this helps some.. ann

i have severe OA, had it for many years. it was due to RA disease. The two combined is evil!!!
I was young too. and I understand the stress and the burden and the feeling of isolation.

The things is, it's a catch 22 thing. i know it kinda sucks, but excercise is our friend. We actually do need to move, it is important to keep what joint use we do have. Excercise gets blood flow into the joint and soft tissue of cartilage etc. which keeps things healthier.
I know it hurts and is painful. I have been dealing with it for years. but my doctor says keep moving to keep those surrounding muscles strong to support the joint. Just got to do it.

I don't know what results you are hoping for, what are your expectations?
Even mild improvements is worth keeping on at things. I have to be honest, i don't see how we can have pain free and struggle free days, I think for me personally that hope went years ago.
So we just have to deal with what we have. I know how hard it is. I do.

Maybe try a reumbent bike, one of those stationary ones. It is less stress on the knees than walking on a treadmill or on land.
i can't walk far either.
If you can try and find an Aqua center in your local area, if you can get to a pool, a therapy pool would be better because they have warm water. Water excercise is very beneficial for us.

I have to watch my weight too, I am about 30 lbs overweight, perhaps it doesn't sound much, but every pound overweight we are, the harder it is on our knees and lower back. I have arthritis in my knees severely and I have arthritis in my lower vetebrae too, and trying to shed the weight is very hard, my old way of losing weight back in the day was to bike for miles or do a run, I was a really active person when I got struck with RA and OA, and this hit me for six and everything changed. So the way to try and control my weight now is to make better food choices, i have to really watch what I eat. Very challenging but necessary, I am trying to shed more weight, it is tough though.

The other things is I do believe in taking supplements, I think they can help with our joints. I take Omega 3 capsules daily I also take
Osteo bi flex, a joint support formula, the formulas that have combination of Glucosamine, chondroitin, Msm, etc. are helpful for pain. I do notice a difference when I have run out and not taken any for a few days.
make sure you take a formula that has the Hyluronic acid. just a better combination. I take a variety of minerals and vitamins.

If you consume junky food, sugar, caffeine, they are inflammatory causing, so can increase pain, so perhaps take note of things like that too.

I take an inflammatory, and I take pain pills but not all the time, I try and manage without, I don't like half these meds and the way they make me feel.

i take a herbal antiflammatory called
Boswellia. I take it three times a day. and I believe that helps.

I encourage you to keep going, keep fighting, do all you can. come here for support and know that you are not alone dealing with this disease.

OA and RA is a lethal combination from h3ll. My OA is somewhat manageable for what it is. nature girl provided great advice. Excercise is great to the extent you can do it, as well as taking an omega 3 religiously. I take Osteo bi flex as well as Omega XL daily. I have been on both for about a year now and they seem to do the job. I also take hydro pain pills on my really bad days but I try to avoid at all cost. The omega xl seems to work great. Good luck if you need anymore tips or suggestions I will be glad to assit. Hope you are doing well and hope you find a combination that works for you.