Massage Therapy and the Lymphatic System

Have you had a stressful day…the kind of day where absolutely everything that could go wrong does? Have you ever thought about taking the “time out” that we so desperately need once in a while just to recoup the overall feeling of relaxation? I always laugh to myself when I put my 16 month old son into a “time out”, or as the childcare providers now call it “a time in”…I always think as I’m telling him to stay put…”Gawd, I wish someone would put me in a time out so that I can just have 29 minutes to myself (29 minutes = 1 minute for every year= absolute sanity saver time) My son always comes out of time in time so much more relaxed looking and his whole demeanor changes. He’s calm again and happy to play quietly or sit with daddy reading. Everyone’s time out is different...mine happens to be in the corner facing the wall for 29 minutes, but yours may be to lie on the table facing down while someone tenderly rubs your aches, pains and stress away. Doesn’t that sound just lovely? Many of you know that massage comes not only with the much needed relaxation benefits but it plays a much more important role in how our body responds to stress, disease, and toxic buildup. Massage Therapy plays a big role in how our lymphatic system functions.

What is your Lymphatic System you ask? Well I will give you the answer…

Your lymphatic system is responsible for defending against infection and disease in the body.

A little background work before we get to the big picture though…

The adult body contains is made up of about 40L of water. Within that 40L, 25L can be found in the cells, also known as intracellular fluid; and 15L can be found outside the cells or extracellular fluid. Within that 15L of extracellular fluid, 12L of it is located between the cells. This is known as interstitial fluid and 3L of extracellular fluid can be found inside blood vessels as plasma or also known as intravascular fluid. Got it? Ok. Good. Next step J So, what does the body do with all this fluid? Well, fluid in the blood and the interstitial fluid are constantly being mixed in and out of blood capillaries to ensure that the waste product that is given off by the cells is removed, so as not to remain stagnant and toxic. Basically, our body is a giant washing machine, always trying to get all the compartments super shiny and working properly.

What is the function of our beautiful Lymphatic System then? Our lymphatic system has 2 gigantic functions that it needs to complete every second of the day:

1. Helps to return excess fluid and protein from the interstitial fluid compartment back into the blood circulation. This ensures that the plasma colloid osmotic pressure will not drop as it requires protein to remain in the blood or the fluid to stay inside the circulatory system.
2. Defense – lymphoid tissue produces, maintains and distributes lymphocytes – white blood cells – these are the cells responsible for defense against germs and bacteria that have crept their way into our system.

That being said, the lymphatic system can get clogged or plugged up which can cause edema – Edema is the accumulation of fluid within the interstitial compartments which in turn will cause swelling.

So how does massage help to avoid Edema buildup?

Well, there are a number of ways that Massage Therapy helps to keep our
Lymphatic System happy and healthy and here they are:

1. Encourages lymphatic fluid drainage thereby decreasing the chance for edema to occur
2. The effects of lymphatic massage are equal to the circulatory effects produced by the contraction of the muscles
3.  Using the appropriate strokes and drainage techniques can help with the movement of lymphatic fluid thereby reducing edema
4. Passive exercise can help when used in conjunction to encourage lymphatic drainage
5.  Lymphatic massage can speed lymphatic drainage and quicken the resolution of swelling caused by adhesions.
6. Massage is very effective in relieving post-surgical swelling and pain and for enhancing the rate and quality of healing
7.  By helping to remove edema fluid this greatly reduces the incidence of fluid thickening in the body
8. Pain can be relieved by removing the chemicals and waste products that have been dissolved in the fluid that stimulates pain receptors.

My boyfriend Josh is a massage therapist and we have many clients who come into our clinic space stressed out and run down and once their treatment is done, I see the same expression on their face that my son gets after time in time. Calm. They are happier, they walk lighter, they seem brighter! A massage has such wonderful healing and feeling good effects, I understand why all the celebrities employ their own on a full time regular basis. However, as a regular 9-5 person though, a massage will not only benefit you..but everyone else around you too!

Hmm, what’s that saying…?

Oh yes!

Happy Wife…Happy Life!

And my personal favorite – Happy mommy = happy everybody J

Cheers to your Health and have a lovely “time out”

Katerina

Health and Wellness

GEM Magazine LI