JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (Nov. 19, 2015) -- Soldiers, assigned to Brooke Army Medical Center's Warrior Transition Battalion, or WTB, often deal with more than just the business of soldiering. Many deal with chronic pain and medical appointments along with their daily routine.
Sgt. 1st Class Samantha Goldenstein, reception noncommissioned officer at the WTB, understands this better than most people do because she too suffers from chronic pain.
"I've been a warrior in transition so I understand the frustration Soldiers experience when they are trying to heal and all the other stuff they have to deal with on a daily basis," Goldenstein said.
Goldenstein suffers from femoroacetabular impingement, a condition that affects her hip joints.
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, femoroacetabular impingement, or FAI, is a condition where the bones of the hip are abnormally shaped. Because they do not fit together perfectly, the hipbones rub against each other and cause damage to the joint.
"My hips are pretty much destroyed at this point," Goldenstein said. "I've had two surgeries already and the doctors told me I will need total hip replacement in the future."
Once an avid long distance runner, Goldenstein could not run as much as she did before. Adaptive cycling helped fill a void and helped reduce her pain.
"I did a couple of trips with Ride to Recovery and really got into cycling," she said. "That was my jumpstart into the adaptive sports realm."
Goldenstein became an adaptive sports site coordinator on Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
"It was a good fit because of my fitness background," she explained. She has a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology and nutrition from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Goldenstein and Army veteran Dave Smith currently run the adaptive cycling program here.
One Soldier, Capt. Michael Rash, appreciates Goldenstein's dedication and guidance.
"She's focused on the cycling performance, teaching us how to stay in our lines or how to do certain things while we are cycling," Rash said. "She inspires you, keeps you going and keeps pushing you."
Rash received internal injuries from a bomb blast in 2007, but since then he hasn't been able to do the things he did before his injury.
"I couldn't run, do push-ups or sit-ups after the injury," he said. "Riding [a] bike has changed my life. I was able to get back out and get physically active doing something besides sitting and gaining weight from not being able to be active."
He said other wounded service members inspire him. He gave an example of a recent ride he was on where the weather conditions were very poor and he was hurting badly.
"A quad amputee riding an upright bike rode past me. I told myself, 'If that guy can do this, I've got to do this,' it's seeing people like that who inspire me to keep going," he said.
Rash has participated in multiple training events with Goldenstein as part of the WTB here. He said he also enjoys the social aspect of cycling - being able to interact with other injured service members.
"I may not always understand their injuries," Goldenstein said, "but they know I'm not just this random person asking them to jump on a bike and ride."
The Soldiers cycle for about two hours Tuesdays and Thursdays. Most trips are about 20 miles, but a couple of days a month the group goes on longer rides of 40 miles or more.
Cycling is one of many adaptive sports activities Soldiers can participate in while recovering here.
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