Dr. Josh Stewart

PT, DPT, OCS

I am originally from a small town in northeast Iowa called Oelwein. Fun fact: I grew up on a farm where we raised pigs, sheep and at times, cattle. I actually showed pigs at our local country fair up until high school. Sports were a huge part of my early years as I grew up playing football and basketball mainly. Many valuable life lessons were gained through my participation in sports as well as lifelong memories shared with my best friends. I graduated from Oelwein High School in May 2009 and soon began college at Iowa State University in the Fall of 2009. I graduated from Iowa State University with my Bachelors of Science degree in Kinesiology and Health in May 2013.

I moved 30+ minutes south down I-35 to Des Moines University for PT school in Fall of 2013 and graduated from Des Moines University in Spring 2016. I was fortunate to have many impactful internships all over the country ranging from Teteroboro, NJ to Fort Walton Beach, FL to On With Life locally here in Ankeny. I credit much of my success and who I am as a clinician to my mentors in my earlier years and am very thankful for those who came before me and have opened my mind to new ideas and concepts that have benefited my patients and my practice immensely. Immediately after graduating from medical school, my wife Madison and I moved down to a smaller coastal town called Navarre, Florida as I began my professional career working at a private practice in Fort Walton Beach. After a year of immersing myself in the profession and learning the ropes at a slower paced clinic, I decided it was time to take on another challenge and applied to work at the world renowned Andrews Institute of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in Fall of 2017.

Many athletes (and weekend warriors) from all around the world trek to Gulf Breeze, FL to see the amazing sports medicine doctors who live and work there. I was able to meet a wide variety of individuals, both patients and clinicians, from a multitude of different backgrounds while I worked at the Andrews Institute. Here is where I believe I grew the most as a clinician through both the support from leadership to go outside my comfort zone and my own desire to help people on a grander scale. I first began to see many of the problems of our current healthcare model while working here and it quickly ignited my passion to make a difference, to be more than just a staff clinician seeing 18-20 patients per day and not being able to give them my full, undivided attention to truly help them solve their physical ailments.

This is where my ideas of Stewart Sport and Spine Physical Therapy were born. In June of 2021, my wife Madison and I decided to make the big move BACK to Iowa (I know, we’re 100% crazy leaving the white sand beaches of Florida). On Monday July 26th, 2021 Stewart Sport and Spine Physical Therapy finally opened our doors to the public.

Hard work: It will pay off.

Empathy: Remove my own thoughts and emotions when with patients and put myself in their shoes, understand the difficulties they are coming from and the struggles that lead them to me.

Responsibility: I take full responsibility for the care of any patient who walks in my clinic’s doors, regardless if they agree to work with me or not. My goal is to make their experience with me the BEST experience they’ve had with a healthcare provider because I was present and LISTENED.

Trustworthy: Patients, family and friends all know that I will come through for you if you need me to. I will always act with my patients’ best interests in mind, even if that involves seeing another provider that can help them on a greater level than I can.

Lifelong learner: I will never stop growing, both personally and professionally, as growth is the only thing I know. You cannot stay satisfied with the status quo. My growth will not only benefit me, but my patients and others as well.

“Burn the ships…”

I cherish my ability to serve patients the way they deserve and provide results that aren’t attainable at other clinics due to the heavy volume of patients (2-3 patients per provider). Trust me, I’ve been there, tried that for over 5 years previously and saw the results that followed.

I am able to practice as a free, independent thinker who does not have to comply with the norms of healthcare, which might be limiting patients from achieving their ultimate goal. I am able to provide revolutionary, out-of-the-box treatments to help patients achieve their desired physical state as fast as possible.

When I’m not working I love traveling the country with my wife, hanging out and playing with our labradoodle Beasley, going to concerts, getting out on the water (wherever that is) and spending time with family and friends.

What is Dr. Josh Stewart Watching, Reading, or Listening To?

Movies: