The Frenchwoman is not having a good time since, in May 2022, she declared she was not in top form in the inaugural stage of Lourdes. A constant chronic headache has been torturing her ever since, with ups and downs, but now she seems to see the light. Let's go read her very long post on her social networks where she tells about her heavy rehabilitation. She has been posting less and less on social media lately and she notices how she is working a lot on herself to overcome this bad situation.
How to make a post simple when things have been complicated as hell…
I feel much better even though I still have to quantify/measure my physical efforts and brain activity, and this is the part which is definitely a tough game for me, because all I want to do is go full throttle… (I tried this option, but migraine and brain exhaustion turn me off and the symptoms get stronger).
The specialists all say the same thing: to get out of it you have to push yourself a little beyond your limits every day, but if the night doesn't bring recovery or the symptoms get worse, it means you've done too much and you need to take a step back to stabilize and make progress again. Sometimes "too much" is useless and is quite annoying – Myriam Nicole
Every PCS (Post Concussion Syndrome) is different. It seems mine is strongly related to deregulation and blood flow. This feeling of pressure in my head, or not recovering from an effort, can be worked on – Myriam Nicole
- it's a rehab like any other injury and I've been working hard on it
- vision and vestibular rehabilitation: done in Zurich + they helped me understand and deal with the symptoms
- get used to filling the days with different outdoor activities and stimuli
- being able to do some aerobic work (low heart rate) this has been a big win recently to be able to be consistent in this area
- adding intervals step by step with long rests. This trains my nervous system to go up and down to be able to activate my sympathetic and parasympathetic systems
- mental work to teach me patience, to let go and slow down (defo the key to speed up) oh yes i strongly believe that this difficult time, the amount of tears and anger, is a lesson for my whole life
- Cognitive: Reactivity training to make this brain heal faster and be ready to ride fast
FUTURE GOALS?
The goal for the next few weeks is to continue in this recovery phase. To stabilize and push my heart rate up, down, left and right, add some work in the gym because it has been completely removed (too much pressure). My new META SX V5 is ready and then… back on my SUPREME DH bike to start the training phase in order to be able to be safe and fit to ride and RACE. All of this takes time and I won't be ready for the World Cup in early August. I still can't say when I can fully return.
From the bottom of my heart I can say this insane injury is by far the hardest I've ever been through. I want it to be fast and to be able to race as soon as possible, but unfortunately the more I run, the longer it takes.
Thanks Zurich, Bruno, Neurovision, Nics, Caro, Aure, Gaet, family and friends. We keep up to date – Myriam Nicole
