Orthopedic massage: Your Physical Therapy’s Perfect Partner

Recovering from an injury or managing a chronic musculoskeletal condition often involves a dedicated course of physical therapy. But what if you could enhance that treatment, accelerate healing, and find greater relief? 

Orthopedic Massage is your physical therapy's perfect partner. With our unique scope of practice, we provide the hands-on benefits of traditional massage therapy with the knowledge and training of assessment protocols and musculoskeletal techniques. This isn’t the type of massage if you want to just relax. It’s a specialized solution-orientated massage that is the perfect companion if you’re in physical therapy, to help you get back to feeling your best.

Physical therapy (PT) assesses your movement, identifies the root cause of your injury, pain or limitations, and designs a tailored exercise program to restore function, strength and flexibility. But when you add the hands-on aspect of massage therapy, it will complement your PT treatment by utilizing a variety of active and passive orthopedic soft tissue massage techniques that addresses those issues that often contributes to pain and restricted movements.

Orthopedic massage works hand-in-hand with physical therapy by:

• Addressing soft tissue restrictions: Injuries and chronic conditions often lead to muscular imbalances, trigger points (those pesky knots), adhesions and fascial restrictions. These can hinder proper movement and limit the effectiveness of exercises prescribed by your physical therapist 

• Pain Management: Pain can be a significant barrier to treatment. Massage can help alleviate pain by reducing muscle tightness/stiffness, improving circulation, and stimulating your natural pain reliever by releasing endorphins. 

• Enhanced Flexibility and Range of Motion: Tight muscles and restricted fascia can significantly limit your range of motion and flexibility. Orthopedic massage techniques specifically target these limitations, which can benefit the stretches and mobility exercises prescribed by your PT.

• Reducing Stress: Studies have shown that massage can reduce stress and muscle tension while promoting blood and lymph flow circulation. This can improve the healing process to the treated areas and benefit the overall treatment.

• Beneficial Before or After Exercises:  Orthopedic massage can help warm up your muscles before your PT session or help aid in reducing muscle soreness and fatigue after your PT session. Both potentially reducing the risk of re-injury while improving treatment results.

Orthopedic massage therapy is not a replacement for physical therapy but can be a powerful companion therapy to your treatment plan. If you are undergoing physical therapy for conditions like:

• Sports injuries

• Post- surgical rehabilitation

• Chronic Pain conditions like back pain, neck pain and leg pain

• Conditions like Tendonitis, Bursitis, Frozen Shoulder, Impingements and Carpal Tunnel (just to name a few)

• Postural imbalances

Then orthopedic massage could be a valuable addition to your treatment plan.

If you are in physical therapy or seeking relief from chronic pain, recovering from an injury, or managing a medical condition, you might want to consider exploring the benefits of orthopedic massage therapy.

Article Written by Diana Gordon LMT, OMMS

As a professional Licensed Massage Therapist for 23 years, I have the privilege of learning, growing and sharing with my clients. I am grateful to now have the opportunity to share what I’ve learned with you. I’m not a doctor or pretend to be one, so if you have pre-existing conditions or any medical concerns it is always best to first consult your medical physician before starting any treatment.