Lymphatic Massage for Beauty Inside as well as Out

by LaytonMassageTherapy on July 26, 2012

What is a Lymphatic Massage?

A highly effective and refreshing technique for purifying and rejuvenating the body by stimulating the lymphatic system, Lymphatic Massage helps flush out toxins and activate the immune system. Soft, rhythmic motion, guides the flow of the immune system, which may become stagnant during injury and illness. The massage is good not only for reducing areas of swelling, but also for increasing vitality states Layton Massage. It has been shown to have positive effects with depression and emotional problems, stress, and low energy, as well as with respiratory problems, different types of pain, sports injuries, and skin issues.

Lymphatic massage or lymph drainage massage is a technique used to help increase lymph flow. Increased lymph flow removes harmful substances from the tissues and increases immune function. Lymphatic massage can be useful in cases of edema, sports injury or for people experiencing a sluggish immune system or those suffering from a lack of energy.

What is the Lymphatic System?

The lymphatic system plays a crucial role in your body’s ability heal from injury and ward off disease. It is essential to the body’s drainage system for cleansing and filtering out toxins and bacteria.

Problems With The Lymphatic System

Aches, pains, soreness and flu like symptoms could all be caused by congested lymph pathways.

Signs of Lymphatic Blockage

  • Swollen/ tender/ painful lymph nodes located around the head, neck and limbs
  • Water retention or edema in limbs
  • Hardened tumors on exteriors of the body, particularly hand, legs , neck and chest
  • Symptoms similar to the respiratory infection (runny nose, sore throat etc)
  • Unexplained fever, night sweats
  •  Frequent cold and flu infections
  • Joint pain
  • Headache and migraine
  • Menstrual cramps
  • Arthritis
  • Loss of appetite
  • Fatigue
  • Mood irregularities
  • Depression
  • Acne
  • Cellulite

The signs can be easily mistaken for a flu or respiratory infection. What differentiates them from the symptoms of flu or respiratory infections is the swelling of lymph nodes. Its better to watch out for those as the neglected swollen lymph nodes can be dangerous, and sometimes even can be the symptoms of cancer, HIV or Lymphademia.

The Benefits of Lymphatic Massage

Lymphatic massage can help to unblock the lymph system by manually cleansing the lymph system in a clockwise fashion say Layton Massage. Performing lymphatic massage correctly can stimulate the opening of the initial lymphatic and increase the volume of lymph flow by as much as 20 times.

Lymphatic massage is an excellent therapeutic treatment by itself. It also has benefits when used in conjunction with other massage techniques such as Swedish or deep tissue massage. Since lymphatic massage uses only soft, rhythmic movements, this technique can be used on the tenderness areas of the body that are inflamed.

This form of massage is beneficial for people who get sick often or have a faulty immune system. It is great for individuals with sports injuries, emotional problems, lack of energy, or stress. Studies show that lymphatic massage has a positive effect the skin, improves energy, and helps with respiratory problems. This treatment elevates the immune system’s ability to fight off disease and creates general feelings of vitality. This procedure helps the patient cope with different kinds of pain because it stimulates the body’s innate healing mechanisms. They key factor behind a lymphatic massage is that when our immune system is healthy, our bodies are also healthy.

Health benefits of the Lymphatic Massage are:

  • Improved blood circulation
  • Muscle relaxation
  • improvement in digestion and metabolism
  • improved immunity against common illnesses
  • edema relief

Beauty benefits offered by the Lymphatic Massage are:

  • reduced facial swelling
  • Reduce puffiness of eyes. Here is an article on how to reduce puffiness of eyes with a gentle massage.
  • Rid the skin of the toxins
  • Improve skin radiance and rejuvenation
  • increase the skin cell turnover rate
  • Collagen stimulating
  • Scar healing by increasing the blood flow towards the healing wound or scar

What is Lymphatic Massage?

The use of massage as a healing therapy dates back centuries. Lymphatic massage was developed in the 1930s and is a delicate form of massage that stimulates the body’s lymphatic system. The lymphatic system has no central pump and depends on muscle contraction through deep breathing, exercise and manual manipulation to move fluid.

Lymphatic massage utilizes a very light pressure combined with soft pumping movements in the direction of the lymph nodes. Immune system function can be significantly increased, improving metabolism and helping the body to eliminate waste and toxins. A strong immune system makes you feel balanced, happy and whole. As with most massage, it is vital to drink lots of water after a lymphatic massage to flush away toxins that have been released.

You may hear this type of massage called lymphatic massage, lymphatic drainage, or manual lymphatic drainage. People with inflammations and current infections should not get lymph massage, because the massage can encourage the spread of the infection. Lymph massage is also contraindicated for people with tumors and undiagnosed lumps, as well as people with clotting issues and heart problems. Lymph massage can make all of these conditions worse.

This style of massage has been practiced since the 1930s. Depending on where a practitioner trains, he or she may use a variety of techniques in lymph massage. Generally, the touch is very light, and the patient may remain clothed or nude, depending on personal comfort levels. Layton Massage clients should always communicate about pain during the massage, and they should also be aware that swollen lymph nodes can be a sign of a serious health condition which requires medical treatment, not massage.

When seeking a practitioner, be sure to ask about where he or she trained. A reputable massage therapist will be happy to provide credentials such as proof of membership in a professional organization, and he or she should also be honest with you if lymph massage is contraindicated in your case.

Lymphatic Massage: What can it be used for?

Lymphatic massage has been used for years to enhance the quality of the skin. o Lymphatic massage aids the increase of lymph flow. When the lymph is flowing as it should, cells are bathed in fresh fluid making the skin look fresh and alive.

  • Lymphatic massage is also useful for people with sports injuries.
  • When applied after neuromuscular massage, lymphatic massage helps to clear the tissue of debris and reduce the minor edema that can occur after deep tissue massage.
  • Repeated lymphatic massage whilst healing from a sports injury can help to enhance the tissue regeneration process by keeping the tissue as healthy as possible.
  • It is thought that lymphatic massage can also help the scarring process by enhancing circulation and immunity.
  • Increased lymph flow around the scar stimulates damaged lymph vessels to heal.
  • Increased lymph flow draws away toxins improving the health of the tissues.
  • Another common use of lymph drainage massage is in breast cancer cases. Women who have had axillary lymph nodes removed sometimes develop edema in their arm. As long as there is only minor swelling, then a massage therapist with a good knowledge of contraindication and some specific techniques can do a great amount of good.

Word of Caution

For the most part lymphatic massage is safe. However as with all massage therapies there are some contra indications. For lymphatic massage specifically, these include acute inflammation, malignant tumors, thrombosis and major heart problems. Too much of a good thing can be bad knows Layton Massage. Lymphatic Massage is not advised as a regular treatment. It can worsen certain conditions like blood clots, kidney failure, Lymphoma (a type of cancer). If there is a skin infection or inflamed acne condition, it’s better to wait until the conditions have resolved.

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