courtesy photo
At the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC), a new cycling program is helping patients foster resiliency, symptom relief and self-esteem.
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Cycling Program Keeps Gears in Motion for Recovering Service Members
For military members recovering from combat injuries, both mentally and physically, the healing process can be an uphill battle, but at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC), a new cycling program is helping patients foster resiliency, symptom relief and self-esteem.
The Bethesda Cycling Program, which has picked up speed in the last year, is open to service members in treatment, for combat wounds or any other injuries/conditions, said Lt. Cmdr. Ann Williams, cycling program co-chair and assistant department head of NNMC's Main Operating Room. Currently, there are about 20 patients from Walter Reed and Bethesda involved in the program, in various stages of their recovery, but she hopes to grow participation.
"It helps with their morale, and helps with their overall well being. It's very therapeutic," she said.
Participants can go on daily rides around the local community, and take part in cycling events nationally and internationally, she added. Most recently, the group rode a portion of the sixth stage in the Tour de France.
Williams hopes to spread the word about the program as several significant cycling events are on the horizon for which she would like to put a team together, such as a 9/11 anniversary ride from New York to D.C., and the Race Across America, from Camp Pendleton to Annapolis.
Aside from riding across the globe, cycling may also help speed up the process of a service member's recovery, and help them to return to a sense of normalcy, Williams said. She noted that patients who have participated in the program have actually reduced or gone off their medications after getting involved in the sport.
The cycling program is also part of the hospital's new Resiliency and Psychological Health program, which encompasses mental health services from Walter Reed and Bethesda, said Lt. Cmdr. Barbara (Bobbi) Dittrich, cycling program co-chair and service chief for Behavioral Health at NNMC.
For patients coping with post-traumatic stress, or symptoms of anxiety and hypervigilance, cycling puts patients into a real life scenario where they're outside of the office, out of their comfort zone and working with others as a team, Dittrich said. "It helps them address a lot of their problems, [like] being somewhat fearful of crowds. It also lets them socialize with other people who have been through similar [experiences]. It also gives them something to strive for," she said.
The cycling program offers adaptive bikes for amputees, that include hand cycles, recumbent and upright bikes, said Williams, allowing all service members to participate; however, before any recovering service member can participate in the program, they must go through a medical clearance process.
"We have to know what their injuries are so we can keep an eye on them," Williams said. "We go through a whole clearance process their PCM (primary care manager) signs off on."
Currently, there are 10 staff members at Bethesda keeping track of clearance paperwork, maintaining the bikes and leading the daily rides.
"It's a very humbling experience to see these [individuals] do what they do. They motivate each other, and it increases their self esteem," said Dittrich.
Sgt. First Class Andre Cilliers, a former NNMC patient who now works at the Defense Intelligence Agency, didn't consider riding a regular bike combat injuries left him without the use of his left hand. He heard about the program from other participants and, when he learned there were adaptive bikes that allowed him to ride, he soon found himself a new sport and group camaraderie among others who were also passionate about it.
Since he started the program about a year ago, he has made great strides, and now hopes to try an Olympic distance soon.
"I have also become interested in triathlons and have completed two sprint distances in the last two months," he said. "I can keep up with, or leave behind, many able-bodied riders."
For more information on the cycling program at Bethesda, contact Lt. Cmdr. Williams at ann.williams1med.navy.mil, or Lt. Cmdr. Dittrich at barbara.dittrichmed.navy.mil.