Ashley – POTS

Ashley suffers from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), where her heart rate may jump from 70 BPM to 200 BPM in seconds and oftentimes causes her to faint. Exercise helps POTS patients, but, for obvious reasons, a taxing workout is difficult to achieve on land.

The hydrostatic pressure of the water allowed her heart to work harder without increasing heart rate. Her heart rate stayed lower underwater so that she could achieve better cardio output with little risk of passing out.  In the Hydroworx, the underwater treadmill allowed her to ambulate with a normal gait, and eventually her tolerance to exercise increased to an hour of interval exercise training. It also brought down her level of anxiety tremendously.

After 15 sessions, she was able to walk her small children to school (Previously she was not able to walk half of a block), vacuum, mop, and perform light cleaning activities for 45 minutes without increased symptoms due to therapy.  Aquatic therapy has been a miracle for Ashley and she was very happy she found us.