Hidden Gems: Meet AJ Cohen of Up and Running Physical Therapy

Today we’d like to introduce you to AJ Cohen.

Hi AJ, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I got into physical therapy because I loved the idea of helping active people stay active. I’d been an injured athlete myself, so I knew how important it was to get real answers and support. I worked in a PT clinic when I was younger, and it felt like the right path. But my first clinical rotation in grad school was brutal — a total patient mill. I was seeing three or four people an hour, running around nonstop, and even ended up with tendonitis from trying to practice what I was learning while still doing everything the clinic expected. It was exhausting and honestly made me question whether this was the career for me.

I pivoted and spent the rest of school training in acute oncology. After moving to Colorado, I couldn’t find any hospital work in that area, so I took a job in nursing homes. It was rewarding in its own way, but it wasn’t scratching the itch. I missed working with athletes and active adults. I tried the management track for a while, moved around a bit, and right as I was about to start a new management position, the building was sold and the job disappeared. That was the final nudge. I figured if I was going to work with the people I truly wanted to help, it needed to be on my terms.

I started seeing clients in my basement, just one-on-one, building something I believed in. About nine months later, I moved into a small room inside Whetstone Climbing Gym. I had 200 square feet and access to a shared weight room. It was tight, but it worked. Once I started learning more about business and working with coaches who helped me scale, the growth really took off. I outgrew that space, moved into a larger one, and even outgrew that before my lease ended.

Now we’re in a 3,300 square foot space in Midtown Fort Collins. I’ve built a team of six physical therapists and two front desk staff, and we’re continuing to grow. We’ve become known for helping runners and endurance athletes, but our clinic serves all kinds of active adults. Every PT on our team has a unique focus. Some love working with powerlifters, some with ball sport athletes, some with older active adults or people dealing with balance issues. We’re united by the same goal: deliver one-on-one care that actually gets results. Our approach is different. It’s focused, personalized, and built to get people better faster, with fewer visits and more clarity throughout the process.

We’re now the highest-rated PT clinic in Northern Colorado, with more five-star Google reviews than any other clinic north of Denver. But more than the numbers, what makes me proud is seeing people get back to what they love — whether that’s trail running, lifting heavy, hiking, playing pickup soccer, or just moving pain-free again.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have definitely been periods of “smooth” and “not smooth”…

At the beginning, I was doing everything myself and figuring it out as I went. I’ve always been someone who teaches myself stuff… guitar, marketing, systems, whatever… and that served me well to a point. But I eventually hit a ceiling. I was doing okay, but nowhere near where I needed to be if I wanted to build something real and sustainable.

The turning point was during COVID and the challenges it brought to in-person care. Around May or June 2020, things got tough. I’d lost momentum, wasn’t seeing many patients in person because of the restrictions, and I was picking up hours in nursing homes just to make sure I could pay the bills. That’s when I realized I needed help. I hired business coaches and finally had people in my corner showing me proven systems and giving me the push I needed. Once I stopped trying to do it all alone, things took off.

Another big challenge has been hiring and leading a team. My first few hires were great, but after that I had to learn the hard way how to find and retain the right people. There were missteps, and leadership didn’t come naturally to me at first. Over the last couple years, I’ve worked hard to build a strong culture, set clear expectations, and really step into the role of a business owner and leader, not just a PT. I’m proud of where we are now. Between me and Joey, our team lead, we’ve created something special, and I finally feel like we’re set up the way we should be.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Up and Running Physical Therapy?
Up and Running Physical Therapy is a performance-focused PT clinic based in Fort Collins. We specialize in helping active adults, athletes, and runners recover from injury, get out of pain, and perform at their best — without being told to stop doing what they love. We’re known for delivering one-on-one care, customized treatment plans, and getting real results in fewer visits.

Our team is made up of specialists who each bring something unique to the table. We’ve got physical therapists who work with everything from powerlifters to trail runners to ball sport athletes and older active adults. What ties us together is a shared belief in giving people the time, attention, and care they actually deserve. No cookie-cutter plans. No bouncing between providers. No BS.

We’re proud to be the highest-rated physical therapy clinic in Northern Colorado, with more five-star reviews than anyone else north of Denver. But honestly, the thing I’m most proud of is the experience we create for our patients. People come to us feeling frustrated, stuck, or dismissed by the traditional healthcare system. We meet them where they’re at, dig into the root of the issue, and build a clear path forward that gets them moving again.

We don’t just want people to get better. We want them to feel confident, resilient, and strong enough to chase whatever goals matter most to them — whether that’s running an ultra, hitting a new PR in the gym, or simply walking the dog without pain.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Right now, a lot of the physical therapy world is stuck in the past. The traditional model — bouncing between multiple patients at once, handing out the same exercises to everyone, using heat packs and outdated modalities — is still the norm in too many clinics. And it’s dragging the profession down. It’s devaluing what we do and turning PT into a commodity.

I think (and hope) that over the next 5 to 10 years, the public starts to see through that. Physical therapy should be more than just leg lifts and Theraband clamshells. It should be high-level problem-solving, real strength and movement training, and individualized care that actually gets results. That means clinics need to evolve. They need real gyms. They need to stop overbooking and start spending actual one-on-one time with patients. They need to stop forcing people to come in three times a week for passive treatments that don’t move the needle.

What we do at Up and Running — personalized care, full-hour sessions, and progressive strength-based rehab — should be the baseline, not the exception. My hope is that as more people experience what PT should feel like, the rest of the industry will be forced to step up or step aside.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.upandrunningpt.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aj.therundoc/ — Clinic IG: https://www.instagram.com/upandrunningpt/ (staff account)
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandrunningpt
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Im0jQRejkNvBjOFvNwMxg
• Other: https://g.co/kgs/RkZskqr

Image Credits
I own and have all the rights to these photos but the photographers are:
AJ Cohen
Stephanie Hope
Travis Brown
Tanner Wilks