What is Manual Lymphatic Drainage?
Manual Lympahtic Drainage (or MLD for short) is a gentle and rhythmic massage that focuses on moving the lymphatic fluid in the body. It encourages the fluid in your lymphatic system to move through the vessels.
Why is this technique gentle and light?
A lot of your lymph vessels throughout your body are just underneath your skin!! This is the reason that MLD is given with a very light touch. Too deep of a touch will block the very vessels that we are trying to influence and work on. Lighter touch allows us to encourage fluid flow through the vessels without blocking those same vessels.
How does the lymphatic system work?
So the lymphatic system is comprised of very small vessels that run parallel to our arteries and veins, lymph fluid, and lymph nodes. Below is a visual of what the lymphatic system looks like, including the nodes! (Photo Credit: endocrinesurgery.ucsf.edu.) Yes, there is a lot more to it, but I’m just trying to keep things at a basic level.
Now that we have a picture of what this looks like, let’s get to how it works. The lymph works along side your blood vessels, and carries the waste that doesn’t leave your cells via the bloodstream. (Wait, what?!) Your bloodstream carries oxygen to and CO2 from your cells. Any cellular waste that can’t get through to your bloodstream finds it’s way into a lymph vessel, and get’s carried to it’s local lymph node area. (See above).
Your lymph nodes do several things. They help to clean up and break down those larger particles so that they can be passed out of your body. They also store some of your white blood cells so that they can kill any bacteria or virus that may have found it’s way into your lymph system.
Who can or can’t get Manual Lymphatic Drainage?
Almost anyone can get Manual Lympahtic Drainage, since it is so gentle. This is especially great if you have some extra swelling (edema, not lymphedema..).
There are folks who have to take some precautions, however. This is why your therapist will usually ask certain questions. Because some things, if a certain condition is present, can be avoided so that you can still get the best MLD session you can!!! Examples: People who have some kind of damage to their lymphatic system, either from lymph node removal or damage, or their lymph system just does not work right may want to talk to PT or a complete decongestive therapist since there are precautions that must be checked before seeing a massage therapist for an MLD session. Or, there may be times that we may want to avoid work on the abdominal area (think pregnancy, intestinal issues, hernia’s.. times that some extra pressure in this area may aggravate an already active issue). Again, would still be able to do a treatment, just avoiding certain… areas.
Yes, there are rare times that a person just can not get an MLD treatment because their body is already working too hard and this technique is just going to make it work harder. Which could be dangerous. Think of it like being at work. If you are already overworked, and stressed, and then your boss adds more work on top of that, you’re just gonna get more stressed, right? Same idea. Generally, however, in these cases a person won’t feel like coming to see a massage therapist anyhow!!
Call us today to find out how we can get you in for your Manual Lymph Drainage session!