Professor Godges began his physiotherapy experience as an officer in the US Army in 1980. Joe is certified as a manual therapist, Rolfer, and PNF practitioner. His professional development also includes earning an MA in counseling psychology. He was one of the original 29 individuals to receive board certification as a clinical specialist in orthopaedic physical therapy in 1989. He has dedicated the last 35 years of his career to training physical therapy residents and fellows in clinical residency and fellowship programs for Kaiser Permanente and the University of Southern California.

From 2008 to 2017, Joe served as the ICF-based Clinical Practice Guidelines Coordinator & Editor for the Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association. During this time, 15 CPGs were published in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. Recently, Dr. Godges has taken on a consulting role as Associate, Practice Guideline Integration for the APTA Orthopedics (formerly the AOPT).

Dr. Godges has been the lead author or a contributing author on over 20 peer-reviewed journal publications covering various topics in orthopedic and sports physical therapy, including clinical practice guidelines and clinical decision trees for low back pain.