What is lymphatic massage anyway??

Your lymph system lives just below the surface of your skin and is part of our immune system that is also responsible for maintaining the fluid balance in our body. There are about 600 lymph nodes in the body and when we are unwell these nodes can become inflamed as an immune response to pathogens. I’m sure you have felt this yourself when you have a throat infection and your “glands are swollen”.

Think of the lymph system as our waste disposal system! Occasionally the system doesn’t work as well as it should and this can result in a build-up of fluid, or puffiness, in our body.

This may be as a result of injury, eg swollen ankle, illness, or infection, like the swollen glands example given earlier, after surgery where lymph nodes may have been impacted such as cancer surgeries or after medical treatments such as chemotherapy.

Even though the lymph system is a circulatory system it doesn’t have its own pump like the blood vessel system has. It relies on the pumping action of our body’s muscles to move the lymph along. This is just another reason why exercise is so good for us. Our muscles move when we move and they “squeeze” the lymph fluid along to areas called lymphatic ducts where the filtered lymph is then moved into the blood.

And THIS  is where lymphatic massage comes in. Manual lymphatic drainage massage, (MLD) as the name suggests, is a gentle massage designed to help the lymph fluid drain away from areas that may have a build-up of fluid for some reason. It uses various stroking techniques in specific areas and directions to encourage the fluid to move towards appropriate collection points which can then continue the movement towards the lymph ducts.

Lymphatic drainage massage can be a “stand-alone” therapy especially when there has been injury or illness resulting in fluid build-up. It can also be combined with a remedial massage session with MLD at the end. It’s very relaxing and a great way to boost your immune system.

If this sounds like a treatment that may benefit you I encourage you to book a session via my book online page here!