Massage therapist in Grapevine shapes service through personal experience - Community Impact

[Cody Thorn]

Steven Valenzuela's journey to becoming a massage therapist started when he was trying to fix his own body.
Valenzuela has his own practice in Grapevine, Orthopedic Massage Therapy, which he opened in July. Prior to that, he spent 10 years working in medical offices in Grapevine and Southlake.

The return to the Grapevine area was a winding trip that included working with cast members in musicals and overcoming major injuries sustained from an attack in Mexico.

How it happened

A native of Odessa, Texas, Valenzuela enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard in 1995 and, after six years, he moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. While in the National Guard, he was a medic in the aviation unit in Grand Prairie.

James Waslaski, a therapist and author, spoke to a paramedic training class Valenzuela was in and discussed orthopedics and sports massage.

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is what I was looking for,’” Valenzuela said.

A classmate in that session worked for Dr. David Kaner in Bedford and helped Valenzuela get his foot in the door of physical therapy.

Valenzuela also built a rapport with Waslaski, who operates the Center for Pain Management in North Richland Hills and traveled with him to seminars throughout the state.

After four years of working with Dr. Kaner and traveling with Waslaski, a opportunity arose for Valenzuela.

The backstory

Waslaski had connections to the musical world and provided Valenzuela’s name to someone with "Cats the Musical."

“He told me it was a big show and a big deal ... I didn’t know musicals and I wasn’t interested,” Valenzuela said.

After talking with co-workers and friends, he decided to join the tour.

He worked on "Cats" from January 2003 to December 2004, which led to working with the cast from "42nd Street" and "In The Heights."

How we got here

Valenzuela met his second wife while on tour with "Cats" with assistance from crew members who gave him her phone number.

He said was in Mexico visiting his wife’s family when he was attacked June 25, 2011, by cartel members.

Valenzuela said he had reconstructive surgery on his face and was in the hospital for a week. He moved back to Grapevine and his sister helped take care of him.

“I remember I'm sitting at the kitchen table and she puts in front of me UNO cards and regular playing cards and she says to make two different stacks,” Valenzuela said. “I couldn't even do that, the simplest thing of separating playing cards. I couldn't do to brush my teeth, just the movement of my hand to brush my teeth didn't work.”

He said the return of his motor skills was a slow process but credits his progress with therapy and from reading the Bible daily.

Put in perspective

Valenzuela said he worked with the late Gary Fineski, a sports massage therapist who worked for the Dallas Mavericks, in his recovery from the attack.

The two worked on a plan from an inversion table to a foam roller to stretches.

“I’d go through this whole process of unraveling me by using his hands and he would say I was weird or nuts. It was just me taking care of me and I’m extremely grateful he listened,” Valenzuela said.

A closer look

In 2014, Valenzuela was healthy enough to work again and spent seven years working at Ouch Ortho in Southlake with Dr. David Brown. Then, he spent three years working at Allen Chiropractic in Grapevine with Dr. Dean Allen before opening his own office.

“I’m not a chiropractor. I'm not adjusting people, but I'm improving how everything works and functions,” he said. “A lot of things revolve around the core function. The core is something that's used a lot with strengthening, but strength goes down with tightness.”

He said most of his clients experience pain in various areas, such as the neck, back, knee or shoulder, but he says a lot of it is connected. Valenzuela said a back injury in 1997 initially started his interest in learning more about therapy and is the foundation of his business.

“When I was going through my back injury, I wanted simple, comfortable and affordable results,” he said. “Some people are more proactive than others, and it’s not right or wrong.

"Whenever people are ready to see me, whether it’s today or later, I’m here because I really care.”