Rose City Physical Therapy
Karl Kolbeck
Karl Kolbeck
(PT, COMT, FAAOMPT, CO-OWNER, Physical Therapist)
Karl was born and raised in Marshfield, Wisconsin, and completed his physical therapy education in 1991 at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, graduating with highest honors. He has spent his career treating orthopedic and sports-related injuries and post-surgical rehabilitation, with a strong emphasis on patient education, activity-specific function, and manual therapy.
For 15 years, Karl traveled and taught shoulder rehab continuing medical education nationally to the sports medicine community until 2014, when he and his wife, Sasha, purchased Rose City Physical Therapy. Since then, his focus has been on growing Rose City Physical Therapy, providing great care, and building an awesome staff to serve the community.
Karl is a certified orthopedic manipulative therapist (COMT) and a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Therapists (FAAOMT). He previously held board certifications as both an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist and a Sports Clinical Specialist; he has elected to forgo recertification as he transitions out of patient care and focuses on business operations, working with the marketing team, being at the forefront of the community, and providing staff clinical mentorship and education.
With his retirement from patient care, Karl’s time is spent sharing his years of experience with the staff through mentorship and education, focusing on evidence-based care and empirical knowledge to help the Rose City PT team provide the best possible care.
Karl’s practice is closed to new patients.
Core Values:
Family first
Accountability
Karma is real
“What you give up, you can’t make up”
Karl 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.
He prides himself on educating patients in understandable ways about what they are dealing with and providing 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, focusing on evidence-based care and empirical knowledge so the Rose City PT team can provide the best care possible.
Favorites:
– Favorite Movies: Radio (offers a strong message!), Top Gun and Top Gun Maverick
– Favorite Books: John Grisham (my guilty pleasure reading), anything wine-related
Rose City Physical Therapy hires based on its 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.
Karl is an outdoor enthusiast outside of work. His main interests are backpacking, downhill skiing, and windsurfing. He also enjoys vino culture, renovation and remodeling projects, and spending time with his wife, Sasha, skiing, traveling, and taking in a Green Bay Packers game.
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