Hiring a personal trainer/nutritionist while sick?

May 3, 2016 4:20 AM

I've suffered from a chronic illness for many years. I've come to the conclusion that I need to jump off the endless doctor visit merry-go-round and focus on pain management and quality of life instead. I think a personal trainer would help with that, but I don't know anything about them.

I have issues with chronic pain (in my abdominal area) and major digestive problems. Do I need someone with special certifications, or if I can just wander into any gym and ask the nearest trainer to help me? I really don't know how this works at all, so please consider me a complete novice. I'm in Arlington, VA, so if anyone knows someone they would recommend, that would be super. I am not looking for a bikini body, but I want to feel better and stronger, and have more energy. I would like a personal trainer/nutritionist combo, or at least someone willing to hold me accountable about food and go over a food diary with me occasionally and maybe help me plan meals. I have an appointment with my GP next week, so will ask there as well. Thanks!

posted by backwards compatible to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

Best answer: If you have a chronic illness, your insurance may cover visits to a Registered Dietician. (A Nutritionist is a self-appellation and some are great and some are too woo to be believed.)

As for a trainer at a gym, you usually just meet with one, discuss your goals and evaluate whether or not that person is right for you. You usually have to be a member of that gym, and you can buy packages of training sessions.

If your illness has a nutrition component I'd steer clear of a trainer who was also not an RD. And I'd for sure skip a 'nutritionist'. You want someone who has a university education and who is state licensed giving you information about what the right diet is for your particular problems.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:29 AM on May 3, 2016 [5 favorites]

Best answer: You might want to see if you can get insurance to cover some physical therapy. Once you have had a few sessions, ask your PT/PTA if they know a local trainer to work with once your benefits run out.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 4:34 AM on May 3, 2016 [6 favorites]

Best answer: i have a chronic illness, but it's very well controlled (touch wood), so i don't know how much this applies to you, especially because i am not in the usa. but anyway, i started going to a local sports clinic, which has a supervised gym. it's the place where people go to recover from sports injuries, and it has a very diverse set of members (more old people, a couple of wheelchair users, etc) (to be completely honest, it's also fairly expensive for chile, and i suspect that affects membership too - economic diversity is perhaps not so great). they offer various deals - typically you start by having a relatively expensive month with a lot of hands-on tuition from a physiotherapist (i think - kinesiologa in spanish), but if things go well future months can be cheaper with less intensive support from a less qualified person (with the physio still there, keeping an eye on things). so it's like a personal trainer part time, in a way (they define a plan for you to work to, and there are monthly checks and updates).

anyway, i've really benefited from it. i don't think i can truly say it's affected the illness directly, but it has absolutely boosted how i feel about myself. it's great to feel in control of something, and to see improvements from week to week. so i would really encourage you to do something similar. it's been a big plus for me (just came back from my early morning workout and writing this over breakfast :)

edit: the only negative for me, and this sounds weird, i know, is that injections (sub-cutaneous ones) hurt more when you have less body fat! that's actually quite a drag if you have regular injections, but you can either eat more (yay) or kind of bunch up the skin, or use different places (if that's ok with your doctor).
posted by andrewcooke at 4:55 AM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I work with a trainer who is also a registered dietician. Many of the people he trains are dealing with chronic injury or illness. I've worked with him for years and have found it very helpful. Am dealing with injury stuff not illness but if you can find the right person I think it makes a lot of sense. My guy has dual masters degrees in nutrition and physiology so he really knows his stuff. Highly recommend but since I'm in a different state that doesn't help you much. I found him via my county rec center when I asked specifically about trainers who had expertise in dealing with ongoing injury stuff so if you have such a facility near you perhaps that's an answer.
posted by leslies at 5:36 AM on May 3, 2016 [2 favorites]

Best answer: focus on pain management and quality of life

Do you have a palliative care team? This is exactly what they do and they might be able to connect you with a personal trainer or nutritionist, too.
posted by carrioncomfort at 6:07 AM on May 3, 2016

Best answer: Would you consider a yoga instructor instead? There are many poses and stretches that can help with digestive issues and chronic pain. I think you would be better off starting with something more gentle than a personal trainer. I'm sure that you have noticed that when you have a chronic illness and you push yourself too far to 'feel the burn' it can trigger a flare up of the illness. If you don't want to do yoga, consider getting a personal trainer at a gym that has an indoor pool heated to therapeutic levels and start your workouts in the pool. Don't sign up for any long term contracts. Keep it at 3 months, even if it is more expensive, and understand that not every trainer is going to be a perfect fit. A good gym will let you try out one session with three different trainers before forcing you to commit.
posted by myselfasme at 6:22 AM on May 3, 2016

Response by poster: Thank you all for your advice, it's given me a lot of options to consider. I have tried bring up pain management and palliative care with my doctors before, but the help I've gotten have been unsatisfactory, to put it mildly. Always ordering more tests and wanting to do more procedures. I guess that's the American health care system at work, but it didn't work for me at all. That's why I'm thinking I need to strike out on my own. I do think my insurance covers a dietician though, so I will look into that. Also, yoga was one of my first thoughts, but my attempts to learn on my own didn't go so well. Another try with a guide would be a good idea!
posted by backwards compatible at 6:57 AM on May 3, 2016

Glad to see you are being proactive about your health, but maybe, based on your update, you need a new doctor.
posted by AugustWest at 7:10 AM on May 3, 2016 [2 favorites]

If you decide to try yoga, look for someone who teaches "therapeutic yoga." Yoga teachers vary a lot, as do trainers. It's important to find someone who has experience working with people with health problems. You may need to meet with a lot of people before you find the one that's right for you. Don't give up.
posted by FencingGal at 7:47 AM on May 3, 2016

I would suggest you don't see it as either/or - you can continue to try to investigate the causes of your chronic pain while still proactively exploring ways to live with it as well.

One of the things mindfulness is effective for is chronic pain. It's intended as a coping strategy to improve your response to the pain, so it's perfect to go alongside other interventions.

I don't think yoga is something anyone should be learning without a teacher. Yoga puts your body in positions you are not used to and it's so easy to injure yourself if you have the alignment wrong or if you push in the wrong direction. Find a good class, or even have a few private lessons to get you going in the right direction. I would try classes with the teacher I am thinking of having private lessons with first - whether you get on with a teaching style is very personal.

Good luck.
posted by kadia_a at 9:31 AM on May 3, 2016

There's something called the Kaplan Center for chronic pain and illness in Arlington. I don't know anything about it, but I noticed there are free drop in meditation sessions and a chronic pain support group. These folks don't accept insurance (boo), but it may be that anyone can go to the support group and meditation sessions. Just some additional potential resources. Also, physical therapists can be another potential resource for managing chronic pain. Best of luck in getting the help you need.
posted by Bella Donna at 12:02 PM on May 3, 2016

For yoga, I'm a huge fan of Mind Your Body Oasis in the Crystal City Shops (that mall under the metro station). They have some nutrition/wellness stuff there too, but there's a bit of a woo factor. YMMV.

They have a yoga class called "Yoga for Inflexible Humans" that is the best yoga class I've ever been to for my body and my soul.
posted by gone2croatan at 2:34 PM on May 3, 2016