What Is Lymphatic Drainage Massage?
The lymphatic system is a network of vessels and organs that lie beneath the skin, and it’s a critical component of a healthy immune system. In fact, your lymphatic system acts almost like a garbage disposal, helping your body filter out waste and bacteria.
Lymphatic drainage massage, which is sometimes called manual lymphatic drainage, or MLD, involves gently massaging areas of the body to help move lymph fluid to an area with working lymph vessels.
How Does Manual Lymphatic Drainage Work?
Normally, the lymphatic system collects lymph fluid and returns it to your heart through the lymph vessels and nodes. But when there’s a disruption to your lymphatic system’s process, such as the removal of lymph nodes during surgery for breast cancer, the fluid can collect in your arms and legs, which leads to swelling. The medical term for swelling is edema, so the condition is called lymphedema.
Certified therapists commonly use MLD to relieve swelling by coaxing lymph fluid from your tissues to your functioning lymph nodes. Unlike traditional massage, lymphatic drainage massage uses light pressure to mobilize the lymphatic system, which lies directly beneath the skin.
MLD follows a specific sequence, starting with the main drains in the body, including the lymph nodes in the neck, groin and armpits. The idea is that by massaging an area where there is no swelling, the congested lymph fluid will have somewhere to go because you’ve created space for it.
How Do You Know If You Would Benefit from Lymphatic Massage?
All our cells rely on lymph fluid to boost immunity and transport waste products. So theoretically, a congested lymphatic system can compromise your immune system. And since lymph fluid is full of disease-fighting white blood cells, stuck fluid can contribute to a host of issues, including lymphedema.
The most obvious sign of a compromised lymphatic system is swelling. Like the blood that’s part of your circulatory system, lymph fluid is constantly moving. If it stops, lymph fluid can build up and create swelling, usually in the arms and legs. If your rings feel tight or your clothes begin to feel a bit snugger, that could be a sign that you’re holding on to excess fluid. You might also experience pain and a feeling of heaviness.
Most of the time, lymphatic vessels become congested as a result of surgery, infection, trauma or diseases like cancer. So, chances are good that if your lymphatic system is suffering, you’d know it. Infection and tight muscles may also be signs of congestion.
In addition to cancer, conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic venous insufficiency (which happens when your leg veins aren’t working correctly) and lipedema (where abnormal fat accumulates in your body) can cause lymphedema.