Headstrong Physical Therapy

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Kalamazoo, MI
Headstrong Physical Therapy

Neurologic physical therapy & powerlifting in Kalamazoo.

12/11/2025

Meet Spooky Skellington, the new bouncer at Headstrong Physical Therapy! 🥳 The poor guy was born with a lumbar disc herniation but lucky for him, most disc herniations heal entirely on their own!

My PT mentor Kim Hardin hauling over a life-sized skeleton to explain some of my pain as a young powerlifter is a core memory of mine; I am delighted to now help my more visual learners understand more about their bodies with the help of Mr. Skellington.

If you'd like to meet Mr. Skellington, give me a call 😂

12/08/2025

🧠 What is FND?

📖 Take a peek at our new blog post diving into Functional Neurological Disorder, a condition you may have never heard of despite being increasingly common!

🕵️ FND used to be a "diagnosis of exclusion", one only considered if all other causes were ruled out. Now, we have a growing number of tests and measures to rule in FND!

✅ Here at Headstrong, treating FND is one of our specialties. Check the link in the bio to learn more about how we treat FND.

If you have been struggling with FND, give us a call!

10/22/2025

Super proud to have our ad and directory listing up this year in Milestone's 2026 Best of Care .seniorservices ! This is a stellar resource to seek out a variety of types of care, from PT, home modifications, assisted living, and more!

We should have some in the office soon to hand out to anyone interested. Knowledge is power!

07/23/2025

New clinic chalkboard design, courtesy of my patient in the middle of a high intensity training session post-CVA 😂😂

🤓 The evidence is CLEAR. High intensity training after a stroke is not only SAFE, but hastens neuroplasticity to improve function, and can PREVENT FUTURE STROKES.

‼️ Because you are more likely to have a stroke if you've had one in the past.

If you've had a stroke, give me a call and let's get to work!

07/08/2025

✅ A new blog post is up... detailing some of the evidence supporting exercise with Parkinson's Disease.

🫣 I know a lot of social media content and blog posts are now riddled with AI; however, all of my posts, on here and on my website, are 100% written by me "from scratch", your friendly neighborhood neuro nerd!

Check the link in the bio 👆

05/06/2025

Why am I like this? 🤣

Had the great honor of kicking off the Parkinson's Exercise Group series once again today at the Portage Zhang Senior Center to a FULL CLASS!

Thanks to my army of volunteers ❤️, I can keep giving my participants the high intensity kick in the butt they need (and clearly want... they keep coming back!!!!)

02/20/2025

I'm seeing patients out of the clinic all day tomorrow, so we gotta do this today!

February 21, 2025 is the TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY of opening Headstrong Physical Therapy here in Kalamazoo, Michigan!

I am so proud of myself for keeping my chin up during the hard times, but the clinic is growing rapidly. My schedule next week is almost completely full, and I kicked off 2025 setting new weekly patient records.

We are in-network with more and more insurers to expand access to everyone who wants high quality PT, and the list continues to grow. I've expanded offerings to seeing patients at home when it's too tough to travel to a clinic every week.

It was hard, but I maintained my work/life balance priorities with a little help from therapy, and I NEVER compromised on my values or morals in how I chose to grow.

Thank you all so much for your trust. It is truly an HONOR to serve my fellow Michiganders.

Today I'm celebrating with a quick lifting session before I see my patients for the day, and a chicken sammy from my favorite spot !

Onto the next!

01/31/2025

Have you ever heard the phrase "lift with your legs, not with your back"? 🏋️‍♂️

Why do we accept that every joint in the body EXCEPT FOR THE BACK can adapt to strain and load? 😱

I am the first person to admit that I had to shift my perspective big time over the course of my career; we were taught in PT school that it is dangerous to load the spine into flexion. Powerlifters are still mocked when lifting with a rounded back. The shear forces -- the horror! Fortunately, a lot of exposure to updated evidence and personal experience as a clinician and athlete helped me see more clearly. 🧐

We bend our backs constantly. To tie our shoes. To pick up that sock off the floor. To get laundry out of the washer drum. To sweep the floor. To cycle (look, an emoji doing it!! 🚴) To avoid booping our head when getting into the car. CONSTANTLY. Our body was clearly meant to move this way! You can't avoid it! So train it!

🤯 And it just makes sense. Your body is MIRACULOUS. All too often we stigmatize movements; saying that bending over is somehow bad only builds fear and avoidance around the movement.

The thing beginner programs all have in common, regardless of sport or activity, is a light start with gradual progression. I frequently prescribe loading the back to my patients within tolerance to not only manage, but PREVENT PAIN RECURRENCE. Out-train the demands you place on your body every day to reduce risk of injury. Make the training overwhelm the dosage, and gain some confidence in the process.

Less stigma, more load.

Address

5601 W Main Street, Ste 5
Kalamazoo, MI
49009

Telephone

+12692053395

Website

http://headstrongrehab.com/

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