Rose City Physical Therapy
Karl Kolbeck
Karl Kolbeck
(PT, OCS, SCS, COMT, FAAOMPT, CO-OWNER)
I was born and raised in Marshfield, Wisconsin. I attended the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse for physical therapy school, graduating with the highest honors. After college, I worked for two years in the Midwest, then spent three years traveling as a physical therapist until settling on Maui, Hawaii, for two years, working as a physical therapist part-time and windsurfing full-time. Once I returned to the mainland and settled in the Pacific Northwest, my career focused on manual therapy, shoulder injury specialization, and education. For 15 years, I traveled nationally, teaching continuing medical education in manual therapy and shoulder girdle rehab to the sports medicine medical community until 2014, when my wife and I purchased Rose City Physical Therapy. Since 2014, my focus has been on Rose City Physical Therapy, providing great care and awesome staff to serve our community.
Dual board-certified as an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist and Sports Clinical Specialist. Certified in manual and manipulative therapy through the North American Institute of Orthopedic Manual Therapy. Also a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Therapy.
Core Values:
Family first
Accountability
Karma is real
“What you give up, you can’t make up”
I retired from patient care in 2024 to focus on business operations, working with the marketing team, being at the forefront of the community, and staff clinical mentorship and education.
I pride myself on being able to educate patients in understandable ways about what they are dealing with and provide realistic expectations along their rehab journey.
With my retirement from patient care, my ‘clinical’ time is spent sharing my years of experience with my staff through mentorship and education. I focus on evidence-based care and empirical knowledge so the Rose City PT team can provide the best care possible.
Favorites:
– Movies: Radio (offers a strong message!), Top Gun and Top Gun Maverick
– Books: John Grisham (my guilty pleasure reading), anything wine-related
We hire based on our core values and mission, and this has provided us with fantastic staff who make the demands and challenges of small business ownership less of a strain. The camaraderie and affability they bring to the clinic and patient care are contagious.
I am an outdoor enthusiast. My main interests are backpacking, downhill skiing, and windsurfing. I also enjoy vino culture and renovation and remodeling projects.
We’re huge fans of Karl and his entire crew at Rose City! In addition to effective therapeutics for multiple injuries over the years, I’ve experienced consistently top-notch and caring customer service.
– Matt A
Finally a PT, Karl, who actually knew what was wrong and showed me what to do to fix it and didn’t just prescribe a ton of useless exercises. Countless appointments over the years with orthopedic doctors, various PTs and even a chiropractor. The source of all that pain identified immediately. Thank you Karl. They are very mindful of the time needed between appointments to get appropriate results and don’t just prescribe unnecessary appointments weekly. Highly recommend.
– Melissa A
I went to Rose City Physical Therapy due to a shoulder injury. My physical therapist was awesome to work with. He thoroughly assessed my shoulder injury and provided excellent care. A couple times Karl, the shoulder expert, came in to monitor and give guidance and learning. Overall my experience was excellent and I would recommend and go back if needed.
– Anthony C