After crashing her motorcycle last summer, a White Rock woman faced a long, difficult road to recovery.

Linette Anderson, 51, said she lost control in gravel while on a trip to Washington state with her husband last August. Being a couple of hours away, they rode home.

"It was basically the next day I kind of seized up and got worse and worse," said Anderson, an investment associate with Shewfelt McMillan Group.

She had a lot of swelling and ligament tears among her injuries, particularly in one shoulder and in both hips.

"It took me a few weeks for the swelling and everything to do down. I went for an ultrasound and physio and then after that, after I guess four to six weeks when I tried to re-enter my exercise world, I couldn't. I had just continual pain."

It was at this point she said she was resigned to the fact she could walk, but not much more and certainly not the high-impact workouts she was used to. Along with the changes came an unwanted extra 10 pounds.

Things finally began to change this spring when Anderson read about Judie Wilson opening a new fitness studio near her house. The Dailey Method looked promising so she decided to give it a try.

The Dailey Method was developed in the United States by Jill Dailey and combines ballet barre work with core conditioning, stretching and orthopedic exercises.

The biggest surprise for Anderson was how helpful it was in providing real relief.

"I could feel how it would be beneficial for me and the next day I felt like I was hit by a truck - bruised everywhere," she said. "I hadn't worked any of those muscles before, but it was good right from the beginning and I just continued to get stronger."

Since then she has gone regularly, five to seven times a week and started noticing marked improvement in just a couple of weeks.

"I really like it too. It's a very positive environment and it's very good for your mind too to take a break like that and the relaxation and the whole thing of it," said Anderson. "It's much like yoga where you feel very spiritual afterwards, but you feel very cleansed and you feel relaxed and better after."

Anderson said there's a community at the studio full of interesting, positive people who have become like family. Best of all, she said, is Wilson, who is "always there with a smile on her face."

"She's so positive and she's really, really genuinely wanting everyone to succeed."

It's certainly worked for Anderson's recovery.

Twitter @carolyncooke1

ccooke@thenownewspaper.com