At what point do you take an interest and turn it into a profession? Or take a disability and change it into a skill? For Dr. Justin Martindale that happened when he was a teenager. As a self-confessed ‘sports fanatic’ Dr. Martindale played many sports, reserving most of his time towards his passion for basketball. “However, with the passion came injuries and I spent many hours at physical therapy trying to undo the damage that sports had inflicted on my joints.” He was bounced from therapist to therapist and didn’t receive consistent quality care, which ultimately hindered his recovery time. “I lived in constant pain,” Martindale confesses. “Then one day I met a therapist and he worked magic on me and I was pain-free for the first time in 13 years! His miracle work to my injuries prompted my curiosity about the healing power of the body.”

When it came time to choose a field of study in College, Dr. Martindale chose mechanical engineering. “My other love is sports cars. I imagined myself graduating and then working with the best designers in the world to make the fastest sports cars!” But he couldn’t shake off the thought of learning how the body worked and finally realized that although he loved sports cars, he was passionate about the human anatomy and how he could enable people who had undergone devastating losses to start again. He switched majors and undertook the long, arduous task of becoming a Doctor of Physical Therapy.

After 12 years of professional study he has a string of qualifications behind his name. He didn’t study just to show off his prowess though; he truly believes that in order to give his patients the best care, he needed to specialize in specific areas of physical therapy. Fact and point, in 2003 he completed a three year manual therapy residency program which focuses on advanced clinical diagnostic and treatment techniques. He also fulfilled the three year educational and practical requirements to gain full Fellowship credentials and expand his title and knowledge as a Fellow with the American Academy of Orthopaedic and Manual Physical Therapists (FAAOMPT). Dr. Martindale is also a board certified Orthopaedic Specialist by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists. In November 2007, he completed his greatest educational accomplishment which culminated in him being named as a Doctor in Physical Therapy, adding him to a short list of elite therapists in town.

With all of his training (Dr. Martindale is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) he decided it was time to branch out on his own. He had worked with a national physical therapy franchised group but was unhappy with the cattle-callapproach to the patient’s rehabilitation program the business had closely followed. He realized that many of the aspects of physical therapy that didn’t work for him as an injured teenager are still being practiced today. Wanting to move away from that, Dr. Martindale took his broad spectrum of knowledge in the world of Physical Therapy, and set out his own goals to make positive changes and great strides of provement for each and every one of ‘his’ patients.

Promotion Physical Therapy was opened two years ago, and Dr. Martindale has some very specific patient focused goals in mind. First of all, he enforces consistency. “At Promotion Physical Therapy patients see the same physical therapist each and every visit for continuity of care.” Dr. Martindale has discovered firsthand nothing slows the healing process more than not having consistent care. “Consistency in who takes care of the patient is paramount,” he says. He also is more concerned about the quality of care of each patient, rather than the number of patients he can cram into a work day. “Our patients come first. That’s why we offer early morning and extended evening hours, as well as weekends, to accommodate their schedules so they can get better faster and live their lives again!

“The day I see that we’re putting our financial gain above that of the patient’s well-being is the day we scale back and I reexamine my priorities,” Dr. Martindale clarifies. “Even though I plan on opening an additional three clinics in the next five years, patient care and consistent care is number one.” Dr. Martindale is currently looking at opening an additional facility on the North West side of San Antonio as he sees how quickly the region is developing and how it is under-served in the arena of physical therapy.

Working with patients is Dr. Martindale’s first love, and something he says he never will give up, even while working as President and CEO of Promotion Physical Therapy. He loves the contact and relationships he develops with his patients. To ensure his patients receive the best possible care, Dr. Martindale has hired top-notch staff, including Herb Bairnsfather, who in about a year will complete the same Fellowship that Dr. Martindale completed back in 2003. Dr. Martindale believes strongly that all the therapists he hires should have the latest training and whenever possible, specialize, just like he did. He sees that specializing in a specific area gives a person the edge, and helps them pinpoint certain issues.

Life is a balancing act for Dr. Martindale, but one he seems to handle with ease. With a young family (he and his wife Melissa have an 18 month old son) and the responsibilities of a growing practice, he has a lot on his plate, but he handles all the pressures with aplomb, because he is truly doing something he loves.