physical therapy wrist massage

Integrative Physical Therapy

What is integrative physical therapy?

Integrative physical therapy offers a holistic approach to physical therapy care that focuses on working with the whole person, targeting root dysfunctions, maximizing the body’s self-healing mechanisms, regulating the stress response, and paying close attention to the connection between the mind, body, and spirit.

Core Values:

  • Spirit of collaboration between therapist and patient
  • Treating root causes of dysfunction
  • Use of the breath to facilitate deeper healing
  • Importance of regulating the autonomic nervous system/stress response
  • Integrated systems approach to body/mind/spirit well-being
  • Importance of whole person care
  • Healing as a mechanism for social justice
  • Evidence-informed care

Mission Statement:

Our mission is to inspire patients to find joy, strength, confidence, trust, compassion, and purpose in fostering a deep connection with their body and their breath, for improved well-being throughout their lifetime.

How we achieve our mission and live our values:

  • Integrated systems approach to body/mind/spirit well-being
  • Lifestyle interactions/ wellness coaching as a mechanism for wellness
  • Active therapies – yoga, somatics, postural, myofascial, and biomechanical re-balancing
  • Manual therapies – cranioSacral, myofascial, visceral, etc.
  • Breath training
  • Mindfulness training
  • Integrative team-based care and collaboration

Frequently Asked Questions

We see all the same variety of conditions that a traditional physical therapist would see – from headaches, to back pain, to sprained ankles and athletic and traumatic injuries. Our holistic approach is a great option for those with multiple health problems, chronic and/ or widespread pain and hypersensitivity to touch.

Evaluations and follow-up visits are 60 minutes in length. Please dress in comfortable clothes that allow you to move freely. If you have a specific area of concern (knee, shoulder, etc.) please dress in clothing that would allow access to these areas.

Contact your health care provider for a referral to physical therapy at Integrative Health in the Clinic & Specialty Center in Minneapolis. Call 612-873-6963 to schedule an appointment.

We also work with more active integrative therapies to get you moving through a greater range of motion with more strength, less pain and with more relaxation and freedom in your body.

Mindful movement and custom exercise programs are used and designed to retrain normal movement patterns and improve posture and range of motion while gaining strength, stability, balance, and breath capacity. These active therapies include:

  • Therapeutic yoga
  • Posture training
  • Breath training
  • Somatic motor control exercises and sensory integration
  • Core strength / stabilization
  • Neuro-dynamic exercises
  • Meditation / stress reduction
  • Balance training
  • Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF)
  • Physiological quieting / stress reduction
  • Collaboration in care with chiropractic and acupuncture therapies

Therapeutic yoga

All of the therapists within integrative health are certified yoga instructors with extensive training in the therapeutic uses of yoga.  We employ yoga and meditation techniques as avenues for clients to gain strength, self-awareness, comfort and confidence.

Neuro-dynamic exercises

These are exercises to improve mobility along the connective tissue of the nervous system, relieve pain and maintain freedom of movement.

Our physical therapy is primarily done with hands-on manual techniques, including direct techniques for joints and soft tissues and also gentle light-touch techniques for the more delicate tissues like fascia, vessels, nerves, and organ systems.  No machines or modalities are used in our treatment sessions. Hands-on treatment techniques include:

  • CranioSacral therapy
  • Myofascial release
  • Muscle energy
  • Joint mobilization
  • Neural mobilization
  • Visceral techniques

CranioSacral therapy, neural mobilization, visceral techniques, and myofascial release

These are all light-touch manual techniques that work with the fascia or connective tissues within the body including the nerves, the spine, the cranium, the brain and the body’s viscera or organ systems.  These techniques help to free up restrictions that interfere with the body’s normal healing process leading to chronic pain.

Posture training, somatic motor control exercises, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation and sensory integration

These techniques retrain healthy posture and movement patterns to allow the performance of daily activities in life with ease, relaxation, and less effort or pain. The ability to use the body with good posture and control is the best way to prevent injury.