Massage Therapy Apple Valley, MN
Massage Therapy in Apple Valley, MN. Are you experiencing lingering muscle pain you just can't get rid of? Did you suffer soft tissue damage in a recent injury? Or are you just under a lot of stress that's weighing you down and keeping you from being at your best? Many people in Apple Valley, MN are finding massage therapy to be an effective treatment option for a variety of ailments. Total Spine Health & Injury Center is committed to helping those in Apple Valley, MN return to an active, pain-free lifestyle that many thought had passed them by. If feeling great every day is something you want to get back to, get in touch with Total Spine today at (763) 568-7869 or contact us online.
Massage therapy is becoming increasingly popular in Apple Valley, MN and nationwide. In 2021, a quarter of men and over 20% of women had at least one massage appointment. Through numerous different types of massage, it brings much-needed nutrient-rich blood to an affected area, and loosens up muscles that have contracted, allowing them to move more freely. It also releases "feel-good" endorphins, which leaves us relaxed and stress-free. While many people seek out an appointment simply because a massage helps them feel better, they've also been proven to be effective at treating specific conditions.
A Brief History of Massage Therapy
Massage therapy originated around 3000 BCE, if not before. It had widespread use in India, China, and Egypt and eventually spread throughout the rest of the world.
The Ancient Origins of Massage
In India, massage was practiced as part of Ayurveda, a holistic healing system, about 5,000 years ago, if not earlier. Textual evidence shows that massage had begun to be used in China by 2700 BCE. In Egypt, tomb paintings from around the same time depict people kneading others, and the Egyptians created reflexology about two centuries later. Around 3,000 years ago, Japanese monks who had studied Buddhism in China brought message therapy back to their homeland, which over time developed into amna, or traditional Japanese massage. These ancient practitioners all lived under the credence that massage was crucial to restoring and maintaining balance, whether within their bodies, minds, or with the surrounding environment.
Massage Makes Its Way to Europe
In approximately 800 BCE, massage therapy began to be used in Greece, where Greek athletes found it useful for treating injuring and maintaining peak performance. In the 5th century BCE, Hippocrates began incorporating it into his healthy living combination of proper diet, exercise, and fresh air. He told other physicians to use "friction" or "rubbing", and created the rational and scientific basis for massage therapy in Western medicine by noting its ability to loosen up stiff muscles. Roman physician and Hippocrates believer Galen incorporated massage into his practice between 100 and 200 BCE, and the treatment became popular in public baths.
Decrease in Popularity and Introduction in the United States
While massage therapy would decline in popularity in the West for many centuries, it started to pick up steam in Europe again in the 17th century. It found its way to the United States to treat World War I soldiers for nerve injuries and PTSD, and eventually massage boomed in the latter decades of the 1900s.
Today massage therapy is ubiquitous around the globe, from Mongolia, to the Caribbean, to Apple Valley, MN. While practitioners of massage may have different ideological backgrounds, anyone who's gotten a massage can attest that it brought them relaxation and eased their pain.
Benefits of Massage Therapy in Apple Valley, MN
Whether you're making one appointment for some general soreness, multiple sessions to help you heal from an injury, or get massages on a regular basis, massage therapy has countless benefits that last not just for the next few days, but for the weeks to come:
- Less stress and increased relaxation
- Lowered heart rate
- Increased movement
- Improved circulation
- Reduced muscle spasms and cramping
- Reduced need for and use of medications
- Increased immunity through increased lymphatic circulation
- Improved skin condition
- Increased athletic performance
You'll only see higher increases in these benefits as massage therapy becomes a mainstay in your wellness routine.
Is Apple Valley, MN Massage Therapy Right For Me?
Massage therapy can be beneficial to anyone in the Apple Valley area and beyond. There are no downsides; when a massage is performed by a certified massage therapist, it can help anyone reduce stress, improve their movement health, improve posture, and generally feel better in their everyday life. Many people who play sports have made massage a regular part of their routine to help keep their body ready for upcoming competitions. There are also many specific conditions that studies show massage therapy may be capable of alleviating or curing:
Acute Injuries
Massage therapy can be a vital part of the recovery process for many different soft tissue injuries, including sports injuries and car accident injuries. Any sudden injury causes immediate, and sometimes severe, consequences for the body, including pain, inflammation, lack of movement, and the creation of scar tissue. Apple Valley, MN massage therapy can reduce the negative symptoms of your injuries and encourage the body's natural healing process by smoothing over tissue and stimulating blood flow.
Lingering Injuries
Some pain and discomfort does not stem from one single injury. Often, pain and discomfort can come from poor posture during daily tasks, a nagging injury that starts to hurt more as it remains untreated, or just the wear and tear our bodies experience on the job or do the gardening work. Massage therapy in Apple Valley, MN can smooth over scar tissue and elongate muscles to help you finally move on from dealing with pain every day.
Depression and Anxiety
We're only at our best when we feel great mentally and physically. Depression and anxiety result in physical symptoms, and physical injuries can affect our state of mind. The Mayo Clinic states that depression and anxiety can cause the following symptoms:
- Increased heart rate
- Chest pain
- Frequently being tired
- Muscle tension
- Insomnia
- Significant changes in weight
- Headaches and migraines
Massage therapy in Apple Valley, MN can help alleviate these symptoms by reducing muscle tension and migraines, stabilizing your heart rate, and releasing dopamine-raising endorphins and hormones such as neurotensin, oxytocin, and cortisol, which relieve stress-related pain and motivate you to bond more with others.
Massage therapy, as part of an overarching wellness routine, can do wonders for your mental and physical health at the same time.
Massage For Pregnant Women
An expecting mother's body goes under a huge array of changes to their musculoskeletal structure. Massage therapy has been shown to be effective at alleviating many of the physical discomforts women experience while pregnant. It will increase blood flow to body parts that weren't receiving much blood, ease joint and neck pain, improve sleep patterns, and release endorphins. Some studies have even suggested that massage may make labor shorter and less painful.
While massage usually carries little risk for pregnant women, it's always important to speak with a doctor before going to see a massage therapist to ensure it's safe for you.
Other conditions massage therapy can help treat in Apple Valley, MN include:
- Headaches and migraines
- Work injuries
- Digestive disorders
- Upper back and neck pain
- TMJ
Combining Massage Therapy with Chiropractic Treatment in Apple Valley, MN
While massage therapy can do wonders for Apple Valley, MN residents looking to recover and feel better, for the best results we often recommend including chiropractic care in your treatment. Chiropractic and massage offer much of the same benefits, but do so by treating the musculoskeletal system in different ways.
Chiropractic care addresses structural issues. Through chiropractic adjustments, chiropractors improve the overall function of your body. By increasing the space between spinal joints and performing quick, targeted thrusts on the joints, we help your bones move with greater ease and elasticity and reduce the strain they put on your nervous system.
Massage therapy treats the soft tissue component. Soft tissue is a term for the tissue around your bones, such as the ligaments attaching bones to each other, muscles that we use to move our bones, and tendons that join muscles to bones. Basically, our soft tissue is kind of a "pulley system" that holds things in place. Through micro-traumas, such as incorrect posture or degeneration over time, or acute injuries, our bodies build up scar tissue that makes soft tissue weaker and less flexible, which has a negative impact on our body's support structure. Massage helps fibers lay down in the correct configuration for optimal health, mobility, and strength, which then allows the bones to do their job.
Having both treatment methods as part of your wellness routine makes each treatment method more effective. Chiropractic adjustments help the muscles relax for a massage, and massage therapy relaxes the nervous system, which supplements chiropractic treatment.
There is no risk to either treatment when they are performed by appropriately certified professionals. Many have found them to be a better alternative to costly prescription medications for many different conditions. At Total Spine Health & Injury Center, we can safely and effectively perform both massage and chiropractic, making us a one-stop-shop for your injury recovery, pain relief, or general wellness needs.
Other services we offer in Apple Valley, MN include:
- Herniated Disc Treatment
- Work Injury Treatment
- Family Chiropractic
- Auto Accident Chiropractors Near Me
- Chiropractor
- Chiropractic Adjustment
- Whiplash Treatment
Call Total Spine Health & Injury Center for Massage Therapy in Apple Valley, MN Today
At Total Spine, we don't just strive to make one muscle group pain-free or help out with the headache you're experiencing today; we want to see you feeling good every day. We offer one-on-one attention, aimed at creating a successful treatment plan to help find you meaningful pain relief in Apple Valley, MN. Our licensed massage therapist can treat you with deep tissue, Swedish, myofascial, and trigger point massage, as well as cupping. For effective and long-lasting massage therapy in Apple Valley, MN, reach out to us today at (763) 568-7869 or schedule an appointment through our website.
