Justin B. Cooper

Justin B. Cooper, PT, MPT, SCS, is a licensed physical therapist with the MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital (MNRH) Rehabilitation Network. In addition, he is the director of Elite Sports Therapy, program enrichment, clinical education and the Sports Medicine mentoring program at MNRH.

Mr. Cooper has more than 10 years of experience in research, clinical education and project management. He has helped organize and lead teams in orthopaedic and sports medicine research and program development. He has experience leading projects from inception to completion, and he excels at bringing multi-disciplinary teams together. He has a proven ability to collaborate with clinicians of all backgrounds and specialties. His research has been funded by US Lacrosse; Accelerated Care Plus; ALTERG, Inc.; and the DC Department of Health.

As a sports medicine program specialist, Mr. Cooper develops research and educational programs specializing in concussion, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, golf medicine and the overhead throwing athlete. He also manages and organizes staff in mentoring new Sports Medicine trainees. In his clinical practice, he uses video analysis for rehabilitation, injury prevention, and return to play. He is board certified as a sports medicine specialist by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties, and he serves on the Environment of Learning education committee for MNRH.

His work, on topics including golf medicine, ACL injuries and use of the AlterG antigravity treadmill, has been featured on television (e.g., ABC, Fox News, and WUSA) and radio shows. Mr. Cooper has served as an instructor and presenter in ACL injury prevention at the national U.S. Lacrosse Sports Medicine Symposium. His previous experience includes development of continuing education courses for orthopaedic and physical therapy professionals; evaluation, treatment and training of orthopaedic patients and student athletes; and development of programs to prevent ACL injury and promote fitness among golf players and overhead throwers.

During his tenure as coordinator for Sports Medicine at MedStar Harbor Hospital, his clinic won the MedStar Clinic-of-the-Year Award. He is a past recipient of the MedStar Everyday HERO Award. His clients have included student, National Collegiate Athletic Association, National Football League and Major League Lacrosse athletes. He has Advanced Back-to-Golf certification, and he is certified in CPR and as an emergency medical responder.

His Master of Physical Therapy degree is from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to beginning his career in sports medicine, he was a high school soccer coach and biology teacher. 

Research Interests

Mr. Cooper’s research interests include

Sports medicineOrthopaedic rehabilitationMedical educationInjury prevention and proper warm-up techniquesReturn-to-play criteria and functional testingLacrosse, soccer and golf medicineConcussion

Selected Research

Are Active Learning Techniques Effective in Sports Medicine Continuing Education Courses?

As principal investigator for this study, Mr. Cooper has developed an interview guide for use with the MedStar Sports Medicine Physical Therapy Course Instructors. This project will examine teaching methods and identify barriers to implementation of active learning techniques. A follow-up study will evaluate changes in teaching methods and the effectiveness of active learning tools.

Knee Arthroplasty Rehabilitation Outcomes Study (KAROS)

Mr. Cooper is a sub-investigator and site coordinator on this large multi-site randomized clinical trial of outcomes among patients with knee replacement. This study will compare rehabilitation outcomes among three advanced protocols plus the current standard of care. The three advanced protocols involve use of an anti-gravity treadmill and/or patterned electrical neuromuscular stimulation (PENS). Mr. Cooper provided input and expertise on protocol development and testing procedures and is enrolling, testing and treating patients in all four protocols.