About Us

513 Performance Training & Physical Therapy isn’t like other places. It can’t be defined by me, because what we do isn’t about me, it’s about you [the athlete]. It’s a difference you will feel immediately when you meet any client who has come through these doors. From performance, to rehab, to trusted advisor, I can promise you that when you join the 513PT² team, you will always have an ally. Think these are just words? Ask any client who comes through here, they will tell you the same!

My Background [Dr. Joe Combs’ story]

I didn’t start 513PT² because of a success story. In fact, I started it for the opposite reason. The biggest injury of my life landed me in a back brace and came at the worst time for college recruiting (the beginning of my junior year of high school). I was determined to get back stronger, but the problem was, I couldn’t find anyone to help me. At physical therapy, they passed me around multiple therapists, assistants, and athletic trainers which is probably why it didn’t fix my back to where I needed to be. My strength coach didn’t know what to do with me because my back hurt, but I wanted to get after it in the gym. He told me listen to my PTs. I was stuck in the middle – physical therapists that couldn’t challenge me and trainers that were afraid to push because of my pain. Throw in a chiropractor, a few physicians, and lots of wasted time on the internet and I still had no idea what to do.

Fortunately, I don’t quit easily. I started going to hot yoga 4 and 5 times per week. I learned everything I could about lifting mechanics and refined my technique for every movement. I poured over the physics and biomechanics of deadlifts – which everyone said was bad for my back – and by learning those mechanics I actually helped solved my back pain [question at this time: does anyone who says deadlifts are bad ACTUALLY know how to coach them?]. I used what I was learning in a biomechanics lab to maximize efficiency in every movement I made and wanted to make. I learned that pain is just a piece of information – It shouldn’t make your decision for you. It shouldn’t make you quit and never move again. IT SHOULD GUIDE YOU. I learned the power of an intelligent longterm approach to training and injury prevention. Today, I can proudly say

I deadlift more now than ever
I squat hundreds of pounds
I’ve run a marathon
I golf and play tennis religiously
AND I don’t have ANY back pain (except for the normal small stuff we all get from time to time from random things)

Not only all of that, but I’ve now seen a hundred people just like me. Arriving with little hope and a long list of things they shouldn’t do. Just like I did back then for myself, I’ve helped guide them attack their pain, and guess what? Those that bought in and put in the work got where they needed to be.

The BONUS of all this? I’m now able to help golf and tennis athletes of all ages fix these problems, and often, prevent them from ever happening at all.

The EXTRA BONUS of all this? The same things that make you efficient and pain-free, also make you perform your best. Physics is physics. Optimize your movement and everything else takes care of itself!

– Dr. Joe Combs, PT, DPT, CSCS