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If you think you have an interesting "Today's Woman" topic, you can contact Madsen at cmadsen@ksl.com. For all the athletes that reach premier sporting events like the Olympics, there are so many more who do not because injuries curtailed their aspirations. One woman is using her broken dream to help other athletes achieve theirs.
Melanie Pyle is the director and owner of Basics Sports Medicine. Her own experience with a devastating injury has helped her turn it into one of the state's best human performance and physical therapy centers.
Located on the Weber State University campus, Basics boasts a team of trainers, therapists and nutritionists all working together to enhance athletic performance and recovery. It's a dream come true for Melanie. She says, "That was to create a human performance center that catered the needs of the fitness enthusiasts, the junior high and high school athlete all the way up to the elite athlete."
Melanie believes the key to therapy is understanding the impact the injury has on an athlete. "Sometimes, as adults we can look at an injury and think, ‘Oh they're young, they'll get over it.' But it can be devastating to a teenager when half their time is devoted to a sport," Melanie says.
She knows firsthand about the physical and emotional toll of an injury. Right before the start of her senior year in high school she tore her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in a preseason basketball game. The day before her surgery she received a letter from BYU saying they wanted to see her play, but Melanie never recovered enough to get back on the court. "It was devastating to me," says Melanie. "I fell into a big depression, and I lost 20 pounds in a month, and all I wanted to do was sleep."
Melanie says physical therapy pulled her out of the depression and motivated her to pursue a career in the field. She says, "I wasn't able to take my dreams to the next level because of that injury, but ultimately it fueled my passion to become a physical therapist and to help other people overcome their injuries."
A broken dream gave birth to a new one. Melanie says she ended up getting to do what she loves every day. "I really didn't think work could be this fun," she explained. "I almost feel guilty calling it work. I just love my job so much."
Several athletes who competed in the Olympic trials trained at Basics, as well as four 2006 NFL draft picks.
For more information on their training and physical therapy programs, click on the related link to the right of the story.
