Back in July we ran a piece about Sandro Scarsellone who had suffered a serious knee injury and was going to be using a RealRyder Stationary Bike as a Recovery Tool as part of his physical therapy.

We have been following Sandro’s rehab story and he reached a major milestone in September. As a co-owner of Spin Kicks Fitness Studio in Toronto, an indoor cycling instructor and keen mountain biker, being able to ride again was a massive step for Sandro and here is his account of that big day!

Back on the Stationary Bike – The Big Day!

After almost 3 months of pain and misery, since I broke my knee cap in 2, I finally made an attempt to get on the RealRyder stationary bike. I spent a month in rehab trying to get my 1st pedal stroke. Every time inching closer and closer, but that last inch was eluding me. Then finally on Sept 14th, ironically my daughter’s Birthday (I really think she wished that I would finally do it) miraculously I did it. It came with some pain, but I got over the top!

I spent time on the stationary bike in rehab. I was pedaling in pain and discomfort most of the time, but I wanted to get back to my pre July 11th fitness. Every attempt I made to try to stand was a miserable failure. Every time I tried, I was becoming more and more afraid that my knee would just buckle.

I woke up Sunday morning Sept 26th and decided that I was going to make an attempt to get on the RealRyder stationary bike. I got to the studio and slowly made my way to get changed and struggled to get my shoes on. I felt I was setting myself up for failure! Went into the studio, found a bike and proceeded to set it up. Done! Slowly threw my foot over the seat and sat on the bike. Done! Clipped in. Done! Started pedaling and found that I was struggling to get my Heart Rate higher. Then slowly I felt that I was getting into the groove. HR was going up, legs were turning, music was playing, then the instructor was queuing to stand, I watched everyone stand, then all my fear of standing came over me. I said to myself that the music is loud enough that no one would hear my screams of pain. I leaned towards the bars, hesitated for a moment, then felt that my knee was able to take the pressure and I was up & pedaling!!!

I was so exhilarated; I felt like a kid learning to ride a bike for the first time! I can’t wait to get to Rehab and tell them what I accomplished on the RealRyder stationary bike that I was not able to do on their equipment.

My conclusion is that my rehab is now at the Studio full of RealRyders! I have to thank my wife who put up with me and helped me with everything as there were days where I was ready to give up and she pulled me out of some very dark days!

The journey continues….

Sandro Scarsellone – Spin Kicks Fitness Studio

To bring the story up to date, Sandro is now back to full time instructing at Spin Kicks, although ironically he feels better on the stationary bike than off it. Climbing stairs and walking is still painful and will probably not improve until he has a further operation to remove the hardware in the New Year.

We wish Sandro all the best on his long road to a full recovery and we are happy our stationary bike has played a part! Stay strong and keep pedaling – you will get there!

Look out for more on the whole physical therapy and rehab field as we will be looking at this subject in more detail. Our stationary bike is an effective recovery tool, because it gives a low impact exercise, plus it provides a wide range of fluid movement. As we always say, anyone who experiences ANY serious injury should seek medical advice BEFORE engaging in any physical activity of this nature.

Today we have the start of one man’s journey to recovery after a serious knee injury. He will be using the RealRyder stationary bike as part of his physical therapy. We recently featured Spin Kicks Fitness Studio, a RealRyder Indoor Cycling Studio in Canada, which also offers top quality Taekwon-Do classes!

Sandro Scarsellone one of the co-owners of Spin Kicks Fitness Studio is changing gears!

Sandro has been using the RealRyder stationary bike since November 2008 to train for the O-Cup MTB Season. He was running 4th overall in the Ontario MTB Series and looking to move up in the standings. He was having a stellar season, proof that using the RealRyder stationary bike had really helped his training. Then suddenly on Sunday July 11th, 2010 he fractured his right patella and had to have surgery as it was split in two!! Now Sandro will take a new path as he has decided that the RealRyder stationary bike will be his tool to recovery!

Ouch! A split knee cap sounds like a lot of pain and we wish Sandro a full and speedy recovery.

We certainly wouldn’t wish an injury of this type on anyone, but it does give us the opportunity to share Sandro’s experience in using our stationary bike as part of his recovery program! Indoor cycling is low impact and offers the training and physical therapy benefits of cycling without the risk of further injury due to a fall while riding outside.

Spin Kicks offer Anaerobic Threshold testing to optimize your training and Sandro had already demonstrated that using the RealRyder stationary bike as part of his training program was very effective with his high position in the O-Cup series.

We look forward to hearing how Sandro gets on using our stationary bike as a recovery tool! Sandro will be updating us with his progress, so stay tuned!

Obviously it goes without saying that anyone who experiences ANY serious injury should seek medical advice BEFORE engaging in any physical activity of this nature.