Melissa West

Melissa is a native to the area, born and raised in Raleigh, staying in-state to complete her Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology and her Clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy at East Carolina University. She then went on to complete an online-based residency through Evidence in Motion that enabled her to become a Board Certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist. She has had five years of experience in an outpatient orthopedic clinic before joining the team at The Running PTs, giving her a broad base of clinical knowledge in managing post-operative rehabilitation, lower extremity injuries, and a variety of other musculoskeletal conditions that affect the athlete and non-athlete alike.

Melissa grew up playing soccer competitively but transitioned to become a runner her junior year of college. She has completed races of varying distance (ranging from 5k to 50k) over the past few years, developing a personal and professional passion for long-distance running and endurance sport. During her time in PT school she volunteered with a local run club to help lead a couch-to-5k group, providing education on injury prevention, and has continued to volunteer with local running groups in the area as a mentor for athletes training up to complete newer, longer distances.

Melissa’s strategy to treating the injured athlete is comprised of an individualized, evidence-based approach that includes skilled, hands-on manual techniques, targeted exercise prescription, and education to aide return to sport and to help athletes become stronger and more resilient.

• Certified in Trigger Point Dry Needling
• Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, March 2020
• APTA certified clinical instructor, July 2020
• Dry Needling Certification, August 2019

• Capstone Research Project investigating the “Correlation between chronic low back pain, Lower extremity strength asymmetries, and balance deficits (2017)”

• Value Excellence Award (2021) – Demonstration of clinical excellence, service with passion, and treatment with integrity
• American Physical Therapy Association