Meet Your
Clarkston
Team
Mike Stumph, PT, DPT, BRM
Clinic Director
Meagan Merlo, PT, DPT
Erin Richards, PT, DPT
Mitch Pulaski, PTA
Tori Schaffner, Front Office Administrator
About
Clarkston
Meet Your NKPT Team
At Neil King Physical Therapy, our team is more than just experts in rehabilitation—we are passionate, compassionate, and dedicated to your healing journey. With a strong focus on one-on-one care, holistic techniques, and a warm, welcoming environment, we create a space where patients feel supported every step of the way. Our clinics are filled with energy, teamwork, and a commitment to excellence, ensuring you receive the highest level of care in a positive and encouraging atmosphere. We don’t just treat symptoms—we treat people.
Hours of Operation:
Monday
8 am to 5 pm
Tuesday
8:30 am to 7 pm
Wednesday
8 am to 7 pm
Thursday
8 am to 7 pm
Friday
8 am to 5 pm
Saturday & Sunday
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The prone Y on the incline bench. This is a follow up to the prone T from yesterday, once again to help strengthen the middle and lower traps 💪
1. Make sure to maintain the thoracic spine position and keep your head neutral.
2. Really focus on avoiding shrugging your shoulders up, always try to pull the shoulder blades down as they rotate out slightly.
3. Reach to the wall in front of you instead of lifting to the ceiling, limit how far your hands move if you feel the shoulder blades elevating towards your ears.
4. Much like the T the weights will likely be lighter than you think, control is what matters the most.
As always let us know if you have any questions on these. Check out one of our 10 locations if you need help in person with either a doctor referral if using insurance or no referral needed for private pay direct access patients.
🏷️ #neilkingpt #neilkingclarkston #physicaltherapy #PT #rehab #exercise #strengthtraining #lowertrap
The prone T on an incline, great exercise for building strength and control of the scapular muscles 💪
1. Make sure to maintain thoracic position the best you can.
2. Don`t let your shoulders shrug up at any point, focus on keeping the shoulder blades down.
3. Don`t let your hands drop towards your hips, reach the hands out to the walls.
4. Make sure you control these, the weights you will use likely will be lighter than you expect.
Give these a try and let us know if you have any questions! We are also available in person at all 10 of our locations both through insurance with a doctor PT prescription or private pay direct access without a prescription.
🏷️ #neilkingpt #neilkingclarkston #physicaltherapy #PT #rehab
We have been nominated again for the Detroit Free Press best of the best! Scan the QR code, click the link in our bio, or copy the link below to vote for Neil King Physical Therapy daily!
https://consumers.secondstreetapp.com/og/55fb4dc1-bd2a-4e15-b1f5-c17892c1a45f/gallery/475781896
Many people think of the bench press as an upper body exercise, but the legs play a huge role when trying to increase power output. To access that power you need to have the appropriate mobility to reach into those positions that allow you to generate tension and strength. This lack of mobility was brought to my attention this week and I`m here to share just a couple of my initial movements I am doing to improve.
1. Soft tissue works for the TFL. The TFL is a muscle that flexes and internally rotates the hip. When this muscle gets tight it makes it more difficult to extend and slightly externally rotate the hip which we need to do on the bench press. Just a few minutes the move around using a lacrosse ball.
2. The couch stretch on the wall. Now my opposite knee is on the floor because I lack mobility through my rectus femoris. Later in the clip I move the foot forward which increases the tension of the stretch. Remember to keep the glute active to maintain as much hip extension as possible.
3. Anterior hip mobilization with monster band. Once again try to keep the glute engaged. I play around with position here moving out to the side to work my right hip into extension and abduction. I even throw in a little external rotation at the end to get some end ranges.
4. Finally after these movements I get on the bench and work at getting into the target position. I`m using my hands on the rack to brace myself for when I push into the floor. Here I`m thinking about trying to drive my knees out, squeeze my glutes, and push up the bench hard for a few seconds before relaxing. The goal is to get as deep into the combination of extension, abduction, and ER as possible with my hips.
There will be more added in my program over the coming weeks and these are only a sample of some different options. Hip extension is important in many physical activities and even for our daily lives. Always assess your deficits and work on them regularly! Let us know if you have any questions!
🏷️ #neilkingpt #neilkingclarkston #physicaltherapy #PT #rehab #hipextension #benchpress
Lifting weights is more important than many people think! Many times we think of resistance training as being something you only do if you want to be strong or muscular. While that is never going to be a bad thing, lifting weights has many other benefits! One of the biggest being a reduction in ALL CAUSE MORTALITY! To put it simply, resistance training reduces the risk of dying. This includes cancer and diabetes.
You also do not need to go to the gym everyday for hours at a time. Lifting for as little as 60 minutes a week can show great improvement. That means two 30 minute sessions hitting all of the major muscle groups per week. If you don`t know where to start, physical therapy can be a great place to help you get going!
Reference:
Sawan SA, Nunes EA, Lim C, McKendry J, Phillips SM. The health benefits of resistance exercise: beyond hypertrophy and big weights. Exercise Sport Mov. 2023;1(1).
🏷️ #neilkingpt #neilkingclarkston #physicaltherapy #PT #rehab #lifting #weights #strengthtraining
Last part of our back training series! This is looking at any variation of a seated row. This could be with a cable as shown, chest supported machine row, using bands, or even be applied to rows on an incline bench.
Performing a seated row:
1. Sit on the machine with your feet firmly placed on the footrests or platform.
2. Adjust the seat and handles so that your arms are fully extended when you grasp the handles.
3. Grasp the handles with a neutral grip and keep your back straight with your chest up.
4. Pull the handles towards your midsection by retracting your shoulder blades and bending your elbows. ***Your shoulder should move back here***
5. Keep your elbows close to your body as you pull the handles towards you.
6. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end of the movement and avoid shrugging.
7. Slowly extend your arms to return to the starting position, keeping tension on your back muscles throughout the movement.
8. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Let us know if you have any questions and remember to train your back!
🏷️ #neilkingpt #neilkingclarkston #physicaltherapy #PT #rehab #backtraining #backstrength #rows
Today we`re fixing your lat pulldowns! This exercise is extremely common in the gym, but is also done wrong so often!
Here`s the set up:
1. Grab the bar with a wide, overhand grip.
2. Keep your chest up and pull the bar down towards your upper chest, bringing your elbows towards your sides.
3. Pause briefly, then slowly return the bar to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
4. Maintain a controlled and smooth motion throughout the exercise.
5. Focus on engaging your lat muscles during the downward movement.
Remember do not shrug your shoulders or flex forward at the bottom as shown in the first clip. Happy lifting!
🏷️ #neilkingpt #neilkingclarkston #physicaltherapy #PT #rehab #backtraining #exercise
We are hiring for our Clarkston location! DM, email, or scan the QR code for more info!
