Lymphatic Drainage Technique

Lymphatic Drainage Technique is a form of manual therapy, using a very gentle massage, to identify specific rhythm, direction, depth, and quality of lymph flow, for the treatment of somatic dysfunctions and pathologies.

The lymphatic system belongs to the circulatory apparatus of the body, and is a second pathway back to the heart, parallel to the venous system. It is present everywhere in the body EXCEPT where there is no blood vascularisation (eg. Epidermis, cartilaginous tissue, cornea/lens, etc), and unlike blood circulation, lymphatic circulation is a fluid compartment with a slow rhythm, low velocity, and low pressure.

It acts as the recycling plant for the circulatory apparatus by absorbing excess fluid, macromolecules, toxins, and foreign substances from the interstitial compartments (tissue space around the cells), thus cleansing tissues on a regular basis through waste removal, resulting in optimal functioning of the lymphatic system, and returning the integrity of connective tissue. It recovers and returns substances to blood circulation that have escaped from the blood compartment into the tissues; helps regulate the fluid volume and pressure in a tissue; helps transport lymphocytes and other substances throughout the body; helps generate immunocompetent cells in the lymph nodes; and helps carry fatty acids absorbed from the small intestine to the blood circulation.

It’s a very active and important system, which surprisingly went largely unrecognised by the medical community until the 17^th century, with manual therapies of the lymphatic system first being used in the 19^th century.

Lymphatic Drainage Technique helps stimulate the lymphatic system by increasing lymph function and circulation, helps to stimulate the immune system by moving lymph into lymph nodes, expedites the removal of biochemical wastes from body tissues, enhances body fluid dynamics thereby facilitating oedema reduction, and decreases the sympathetic nervous system response (fight, flight, freeze) whilst simultaneously increasing the parasympathetic nervous system response (rest and digest), resulting in a non-stressed, relaxed body state.

The lymphatic system can stop working properly if it becomes blocked, inflamed, or cancerous, and underlying lymphatic problems often go undiagnosed, contributing to many inflammatory disorders and health complaints.

Some common symptoms of lymphatic problems include fluid retention, rashes, muscle/joint pain, itchiness, ‘heavy’ legs, generalised puffiness, swelling of lymph nodes, breast swelling, cellulite, hormonal problems, chronic fatigue, stress, recurrent bouts of ‘being sick’, gut issues, etc.

Lymphatic Drainage Technique can help address these symptoms, as well as assist people with lymphoedema (accumulation of lymph in an area of the body because of damage to a vessel/node; congenital or acquired), pre/post-surgery to prepare the tissues for surgery, and prevent oedema post surgically, post fracture/sprain for pain relief and swelling reduction, reducing general inflammation, and more.

The method of Lymphatic Drainage Technique used at Your Healing Space is from The Chikly Institute, developed by Bruno Chikly.