Your Lymph System In Every Day Life

by Debra Redman, LMT, NCTMB

Margarette is the picture of health so a mini health crisis came as a surprise. In the same week her divorce was to be final, she was scheduled as an outpatient for an ablation, a type of heart surgery, on Wednesday and replacement breast implant surgery on Friday. The post-surgical recovery would have most people flat on their backs for more than just a few days. Imagine her therapist’s surprise when she answered the door for a manual lymph drainage massage the day after the heart surgery.

The immune system does not react well to being over-stressed. Margarette was experiencing a very stressful time in her life. She had swelling in her right leg from the malfunctioning valve in her heart. The collapsed breast implant left her chest feeling heavy. Her medical massage therapist suggested she relieve some of the discomfort with a medical massage modality called Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD). This specialized technique is designed to stimulate the immune system and help the lymphatic system achieve healing in the body.

The lymph system is a part of the immune system. It’s responsible for delivering the nutrients and vital substances required to nourish, repair, protect, and clean up the body. Lymph fluid is the transport mechanism. The pathway of lymph fluid mirrors the circulatory system. The circulatory system is a closed system that sends blood flow through veins and arteries that lead back to a central pump called the heart. The lymph system is an open system that does not have a prescribed path of flow and it does not have its own pump to circulate it. Lymph fluid flows between all cells of the body, picking up and delivering to and from the circulatory system whatever is required by various cells.

There are five ways that the body keeps the lymph fluid flowing in the body: muscle movement, deep breathing, pumping of the arteries, peristaltic movement of the intestines, and manual lymph drainage massage. The lymph system begins just under the surface of the skin. Movement of lymph fluid is caused by the friction between muscles and lymph capillaries. Deep breathing causes pressure changes in the body which stimulates fluid movement. Arterial contractions which move blood through the body also help transport lymph fluid. The rhythmic movement of the intestinal system stimulates lymph flow as the lymph system picks up nutrients to be delivered to other parts of the body. Manual lymph drainage massage removes fluid from soft tissue by mechanically stimulating the lymph system through a series of specific techniques.

Margarette received MLD massage both before and immediately after her surgeries. Pre-operative MLD cleans the area so that there is little bleeding, creating an environment that decreases pain levels and the chance for infection. This primed her lymph system to start moving toxins out of her body before the surgeries.

The effects of MLD massage last up to 72 hours, depending upon the duration of the massage. The result is that it slows the amount of bleeding during surgery down and causes the body to start detoxifying the chemicals from the anesthesia and other medications immediately.

The post-operative session kept the process going, diminishing pain levels to the point where Margarette didn’t need any medication. She recovered so quickly, she was back at work by the following Wednesday, missing only five workdays.

MLD uses very gentle, precise strokes to promote the release of fluid build-up in the body called edema. Any interruption in lymph circulation can impair the functioning of the body’s immune system, its ability to repair damaged tissue, and cause chemical imbalance in the body. Edema is a condition defined as swelling that occurs when interstitial fluid builds up in the muscles of the body. Swelling indicates that the body is in the process of repairing an injury site. Once the repairs are completed, the lymph system normally clears out the waste material and the site goes back to normal. The amount of time the body needs to repair an injury site depends upon the nature of the injury; however, If left untreated, the swelling could potentially lead to a more serious medical condition called lymphedema. Unlike edema, lymphedema can become a chronic condition that has consequences for the whole body. Swelling, pain, numbness, sensation of pressure, a sensation of a limb feeling heavy or dull, increased susceptibility to infection, loss of mobility, and impaired wound healing are all a result of chronic lymphedema.

An example of a chronic condition is demonstrated by a chiropractor who was bitten by a spider during a workout. Kevin was bitten by a large spider on his left knee cap. Immediately, his body reacted to the bite with localized swelling that went from the lower half of his thigh to just below his knee. His physician recommended letting the body take care of it since they weren’t sure how to treat the toxicity of the spider bite. Six weeks later, the swelling had reduced considerably to approximately 70% of the initial injury. However, he was still experiencing stiffness and mild pain in his knee. The knee was visibly swollen on one side of the knee cap and micro-edema could be felt ranging from the lower half of his thigh and back of the knee. Any swelling that lasts longer than 72 hours can become chronic edema.

Chronic swelling has four levels of manifestation: micro edema, mild or pitting edema, non-pitting edema, and severe hardening. The first two can be reversed and usually completely alleviated with MLD. The last two cannot be reversed but the symptoms may be helped by MLD.

Micro-edema is not always visible to the naked eye. It manifests as a sensation in the body that something is not feeling ‘right.’ A joint feels stiff or maybe an arm or leg seems harder to move than the other limb. Anything from a mild injury to the residual effects of surgery could be the cause. This subtle form of edema is easily reversible by stimulating the lymph flow in the area.

Mild or pitting edema is usually visible. A slight finger pressure on the area will leave a slight depresson in the tissue that doesn’t release right away. Some reasons why the lymph system will respond with edema include illness, lack of exercise, injury (i.e. sports, surgery, disease) and being on an airplane flight. MLD helps both acute and chronic conditions. A typical example of acute pitting edema occurs after an injury, like spraining an ankle. Chronic edema will make the area of swelling a little misshapened.

Melody underwent oral surgery that took place over two sessions with the dentist. After the surgeries, her face swelled, as expected. However, after three months, the left side of her cheek was clearly still swollen and the left side of her head felt heavy, as if it wasn’t a part of her face. Stimulating the lymph system in her head and neck released the blockages to the area and her face returned to it’s normal symmetrical shape.

The conditions of non-pitting edema and severe hardening are not reversible. The ypes of conditions which cause permanent edema include kidney disease (nephritis), leaking blood vessels, varicose veins (not spider veins), third degree burns, congestive heart failure, untreated high blood pressure, obstructions in the circulation system (thrombosis or clots), and active cancers.

Many people learn about the effects of lymphedema when they experience cancer. For example, breast cancer patients often experience swelling in an arm and chest after surgery or chemical treatments. Because the lymph system has been damaged in most cases, edema management will become a fact of life for breast cancer survivors.

In an informal survey of 100 healthy people, participants were asked if they knew about the lymph system and what they could do to keep it healthy. Zero percent of those surveyed knew what the lymph system does in the body nor what they can do proactively to keep it healthy. Very little information is disseminated to healthy patients about how to take care of the swelling they experience after a sports injury, accident, or surgical procedure. Not very many people are told about the benefits of MLD prior to surgical events or the impact on healing after surgery. I have discussed MLD with heart surgeons, podiatrists, chiropractors, orthopedic and plastic surgeons over the course of five years. It is my concern that few know how to fully utilize MLD or pay any attention to the role that edema plays in healing. Doctors don’t seem to be addressing the impact chronic swelling has when treating conditions that won’t heal appropriately.

Manual Lymph Drainage Massage is used to treat clients who have experienced injuries from sports (acute and chronic), accidents, or surgeries, cancer patients in remission, Parkinson’s patients, pregnant women, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, allergies and sinus problems. It is also recommend for MLD for breast cancer prevention and maintenance. These are just some of the conditions that can be treated with Manual Lymph Drainage massage.

There are several ways to find an MLD therapist, however the best way is to google “manual lymph drainage massage” for directory listings in your area for therapists. You can also call local privately owned massage schools rather than technical college training programs. Technical training programs do not teach the advanced skills required to become a manual lymph drainage therapist. Finally, word of mouth referrals will always ensure that you are working with a professional who gets results. So ask your friends who get bodywork done regularly for their therapist’s qualifications.