Physical Therapy And Pots Exercise Questions

[LastUnicornLady]

Hey, everyone! I had my first day of physical therapy today. About two weeks ago, I fell on my knee and injured it. We got an x-ray done, and they found no fractures, but there was fluid, so they sent me to a sports medicine doc to make sure there were no tears to any of the ligaments. He decided that it was probably a deep bone bruise (not fun, but it causes no permanent damage), and sent me to physical therapy to get me back in dance as quickly as possible.

Now, I had been on crutches for about a week per my first doctors instructions just in case there was ligament damage, but since there wasn't, my main problem was stiffness from not using it. We did a bunch of stuff today, and I was able to walk out not using the crutches at all! Huge improvement.

They were really great about my POTS. They asked about it, made sure they understood what was going on, and they asked me what to do if I had an episode while I was with them. They also made it clear that if we needed to modify anything because of the POTS, they were totally good with that and would work with me to make sure it was something doable. So, I really enjoyed PT, and I'm thinking it's going to be really good for me.

I am interested in starting a more structured workout/program for my POTS in general, and was wondering what any of you were doing. I am actually in pretty good shape, and am still taking dance classes twice a week. I was hoping to start doing something more, though. I don't really like/do running, and I'm not too big on walking either. I like riding my bike, and I also really enjoy water stuff, because it eliminates the awful heat aspect that really gets in my way. (Summer in the south... not good for a POTSie.) Also, I have joint pain, and I know that being in the water gets rid of some of the trauma to the joints.

Well, I was wondering if any of you had ideas on how I could get into some more aquatic stuff. I don't have access to a pool right now, and there's no way on God's green earth that we are getting a pool. So, that being said, what is the best/cheapest way to get access to a pool? Would my best option be to get a membership at an exercise... center? (Not really sure what those are called.) What do those memberships usually run? How about The Y? Would that be a better (cheaper, more practical, whatever) way to go? Do they have open... pool night... or whatever? How do memberships work there? What types of exercise stuff (movements and such) should I concentrate for my POTS regimen?

So anyways... there ya go. I have a lot of questions, I know, and I'd really like to know what other people do and suggest. I plan on bringing this up with my doctor in May, but if I'm going to get a membership somewhere, than I want to start looking into that sooner rather than later.

[lulusoccer]

I'd honestly recommend going to the various workout centers in your community and visiting them. That way you can see what the gym has to offer and get information on how much each of them costs. I know where I live the memberships costs anywhere from $10 (Basic, just gym, no classes/pool)-$40/mo depending on the gym.

[Krissy21]

Like lulusoccer said, I'd recommend going to different places in your community to see how much they cost/what they offer. My community has a fitness center with a pool, weight room, treadmills/bikes/ellipticals, track, basketball courts, and rooms for exercise classes. It costs $230 for the year or $30 monthly passes. There are some other private gyms in my community but they are much more expensive and don't have a pool. Even the Y near me is more expensive, about $350 a year for the young adult age group. There is no specific swim time at my fitness center. As long as you have a membership and the facility is open, you can use the pool. I found going to the fitness center and working out regularly helpful for my pots. I usually ride the recumbent bikes and do some weight lifting (especially legs to help with blood pooling). The only reason I don't currently have a pass is because I prefer to exercise outside in the spring/summer.