Back on the bike

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After a life changing injury there can be many roads to recovery, and pedalling a bike can be one important part. Senior Exercise Physiologist Chris Byrne explains.

The  Epworth  Hospital’s  Cycle  Re­training  started  20  years  ago  –  the  brainchild  of  sports physiologists including Chris Byrne who realised people suffering from traumatic injuries wanted to get back on the bike.

The program offers riding education and rehabilitation to people who have  suffered traumatic brain  injuries  like  Ben  and  orthopaedic  injuries.  More  recently,  the  program  was  offered  to people who have had limbs amputated.


Ben’s Story

It  was  an  early  morning  in February  2013  when  21-­year­-old Ben  was  driving  to  trade  school from his home in Gisborne ­ on the outskirts of Melbourne.

Ben  was  training  as  an  apprentice  electrician  and  the  trip  was  one  he’d  taken  many  times before. But this day, as he made his way to school, Ben’s car left the road, colliding with a tree.

Epworth Hospital’s Senior Exercise Physiologist Chris Byrne says Ben sustained life threatening injuries – including a brain injury.

“The  crash  left  him  without  the  ability  to  walk  or  talk.  He  couldn’t remember  simple  things,” Byrne, explains.

It was something his medical team called a “significant impairment”.

Byrne says he met Ben after he underwent a nine­month stint in hospital, undergoing extensive, daily rehabilitation – taking on exercises to re­train himself to speak, remember information and walk.

Byrne says Ben had moved back to regional Victoria to live with his parents – but continued his therapy sessions in Melbourne every week.

A  recreational  bike  rider  before  the  crash,  Ben  mentioned  during  one  of  his  many  therapy sessions that he wanted to ride again, to feel the freedom he did before his crash, and to have the independence to travel that he once had.

So  he  was  introduced  to  the  team  at  Epworth  Hospital’s  Cycling  Re­training  Program  to  get back on the bike.

“Ben knew he had to wait until he could learn to drive again, so he wanted to use his bike as transport to ride to the local gym for therapy and hydro pool  sessions, and get back to footy training to reconnect with his mates and his community,” Mr Byrne explains.

It  started  Ben’s  journey  to  get  back  on  the  bike  –  and  to  the  life  he  had  before  the  crash. Through his dogged determination, family, friends’ and community support ­ he’s back to being a regular rider and making the journey to the gym and footy training.

“Though he’s unable to play footy, he does help out with other important things around the club,” Byrne says.

He’s also making his way back to full time work. A local business offered him work two days a week (in the electrical trades where he started out) – and he rides his bike along the bike paths between his home and the shop each day. Riding a bike has helped Ben, not just regain some of the independence he lost after the crash, but also with the social connections that are really important part of recovery.


Assissted-3
Srinivas Boddu with exercise physiologist Adrian Sexton

Since  it  began  in  the  mid­-1990s,  more  than  200  patients  have  been  through  the  re­training program and are riding again – with the main age range of participants from their late teens to mid-­40s.

Some are  cyclists who have been involved in  crashes,  some like Ben, are recreational riders wanting to get back on the bike after major trauma to their bodies.

It also offers training to therapists and physiologists across the country, allowing more patients to have access to the Cycle Re­training Program.

Each  participant  is  assessed  by  a  medical  team  and  also  assessed  for riding  ability. They’re provided  with  training  on  a  one­to­one  basis,  ensuring  close  supervision  and  assistance  is always available.

The training is comprised of three core components:

1) Closed skill, which includes riding balance, cornering, braking and bike control skills;

2) Open skill, where the rider is introduced to cycle path and shared space riding are the focus, and,

3) On road cycling, where in traffic riding, riding safety, visibility and intersection negotiation are addressed.

As a large number of the program’s participants have sustained their injuries while cycling so returning to on road cycling can be a very daunting and emotional task.

The program allows a person to develop their riding skills and confidence at their own pace in a supported environment. There is no pressure to succeed and no time limits are set to learn new riding  skills  –  the riders  are  gradually  exposed  to  new  environments  and  skills  to  instil riding confidence.

For some riders, just being able to ride alongside their children on a cycle path or ride to the local shops will be a major milestone. Others have been known to set more lofty goals, such as aiming  to  conquer  events  like  Around  the  Bay  on  a  modified  recumbent.  Accordingly,  each person’s circumstances, abilities and goals are taken into consideration when the individualized training program is devised.


*The  program  works  collaboratively  with  a  company  called  Cycle  Science  –  which  helps  to modify bikes depending on patient needs.

Epworth Rehabilitation accepts referrals for individuals who are interested in returning to cycling following major injury. For more information email Chris Byrne ([email protected]) or Adrian Sexton ([email protected]).


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