Three years ago Amy Griffiths from Ace Bicycles Monmouth was unfortunate enough to have two crashes in the space of six weeks. After damaging her collarbone in the first incident, Amy crashed again in a Mini Downhill event at the Forest of Dean resulting in a dislocated shoulder.
Assuming her shoulder was fixed by “popping it back into place”, Amy was unaware of the internal damage she had suffered and returned to work as an outdoor activities instructor; trying her best to ride as though nothing had happened.
After a period of chronic discomfort and pain, Amy met with a surgeon in October of 2019 and was soon on the operating table as she received surgery to fill the dent in her humeral head bone along with extensive work to her ligaments and tendons.
Amy’s recuperation was slow and had a real impact. Having to leave her job and return home just as the Covid crisis hit meant cancelled physio appointments and a real lack of positivity. Once Covid restrictions relaxed it allowed Amy to slowly get back to fitness. Amy followed the surgeon’s instructions to lightly exercise her damaged wrist and elbow, whilst protecting her shoulder. This process took much longer than anticipated with everyday tasks such as brushing her teeth aggravating the injury.
Amy began to use a turbo trainer in order to begin to return to fitness - “I was doing a couple a light sessions a week, one handed!” Once she had received clearance from the doctors, Amy tried returning to her bike. She was nervous at first, “a bump on the track, a corner, even sticks – all made me think if I fell off I will reinjure my shoulder and cause more pain. It was a big mental hurdle”.
To aid her return to fitness Amy has taken to using a Whyte e-150 electric bike. “The e-Bike has really helped with my rehab both physically and mentally. The constant pain made me tired and thoughts of going on a normal pedal bike were out of the question. Getting an e-Bike meant I could go out for a couple of hours without too much extra exertion or causing extra pain from pushing up hills.”
“Having an e-Bike now means I can get out more regularly, 1-2 times a week. Keeping the routine of just riding means I'm working out the muscles in my upper body without it feeling like a chore. I'm slowly getting stronger and firing up the different muscle groups by just having fun!”
“It means I can go out with people I know are much fitter and stronger than me and I won't feel like I'm holding anybody up or being a burden.”
As you can see from our latest photoshoot at the Forest of Dean Amy is back to riding trails with us, which we’re really pleased about. Amy is now fit enough to ride and looking forward to full recovery. Amy would like to thank her close friends for always being at the end of a phone, the support of Ace Bicycles and her mother who we’re told is a “right gem”.
