Trent Salo
PHYSICAL THERAPIST | STRENGTH + CONDITIONING COACH | PERFORMANCE STRATEGIST
With experience at the highest level, I’m passionate about bringing high quality care to athletes of any stage.
Through in-person care at The Tendon Lab to consultations designed to help optimize inter-disciplinary performance in a team setting, my work is focused on elevating the standard of care for athletes at every level.
Services Offered
Strategic Consulting for Elite Teams, Athletes, and Organizations
Drawing from a decade of elite sports experience, I bring a unique perspective to organizational consulting. My experience in managing high-stakes team dynamics, optimizing human performance under pressure, and bridging the gap between operational execution and strategic vision has equipped me to solve your most complex business challenges.
Whether you're navigating organizational restructuring, building high-performance teams, or developing systems that maximize human potential, I translate proven methodologies from professional sports into actionable solutions that drive measurable results.
Achilles & Patellar Tendon Health Profiling/Monitoring
Utilizing ultrasound scanning, The Tendon Lab offers the ability to examine the health of your Achilles or Patellar Tendon.
Structural changes often occur prior to the onset of symptoms, meaning our technique offers the ability to catch tendon injuries early and minimize time lost.
Whether you’re looking for preventative services or recovery from an injury, our state-of-the-art technology provides data that could be difference between a winning season and a season on the bench.
Get To Know Me
I'm a dad and husband first—
everything else is built upon these roles.
My journey started as a collegiate point guard with NBA dreams, but when my playing career ended, I discovered something even more fulfilling: helping elite athletes achieve theirs.
Working as a dual-role athletic performance coach and physical therapist for the Detroit Pistons, I both designed weight room programming and guided players through injury rehabilitation. Over the years, my role continued to evolve. I ended up serving as Vice President of Player Health and Performance for the Charlotte Hornets before exiting the NBA to spend more time with my family.
The Tendon Lab
Founder + Owner
University of Copenhagen
PhD(s) Tendon Health in Basketball Athletes
Charlotte Hornets
Medical + Performance Consultant
Vice President of Player Health + Performance
Grand Rapids Gold
Strength + Conditioning Coach
Calvin University
Faculty Instructor/Human Performance Lab
University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences
Doctorate of Physical Therapy
Detroit Pistons
Senior Director of Athletic Performance
Sports Performance Director
Sports Performance Coordinator
Why Tendons?
Back in 2017, I was introduced to groundbreaking ultrasound technology that could monitor tendon structure and it completely changed how I viewed these complex injuries. This technology aided in a player’s remarkable recovery and subsequent major contract signing (which is featured in this LA Times article). It validated what I'd begun to suspect:
We can treat tendon injuries so much better than the conventional approach.
This exposure ignited my passion for tendon research—a field where I'm now pursuing my PhD.
All of these experiences — from playing to coaching to treating to leading — have crystallized my mission: translating specialized research from the lab into real-world application that reaches beyond professional sports. Whether it's with tendons, athletic performance, or on-court basketball skills, the pursuit of excellence drives everything I do.
I would highly recommend ANY athlete at ANY level to work with Trent. While his knowledge and curiosity for learning is elite as it gets, his character and work ethic is what sets him apart.
I’ve seen him lead countless players and coaches throughout his professional journey and I hold him in the highest regard.
Jordan Brink, New York Knicks
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Reach Out
If you’re ready for a consultation, please fill out an application form here.
If you’d like to know more about me or my services, you can fill out this form here with any of your questions and I will get back to you as soon as possible.