Lymphatic Treatments

Boost your immune system, detox your body, and relax!

No wellness plan would be complete without incorporating a detoxification and relax strategy - my services include lymphatic massage to serve this very purpose.

An integral part of the immune system, your lymphatic system acts to clean your body of toxins and wastes. The lymph system also feeds your cells and stimulates your immune system so that it can fight invaders to provide an all-encompassing sense of peace. Our lymph systems function regularly through normal daily activity and exercise, however as many people lead sedentary lifestyles, their system isn’t offered enough opportunity to stimulate lymphatic circulation.

When your lymph system gets congested, some common symptoms include:
•         Allergies
•         Excess weight
•         Digestive disorders
•         Fatigue
•         Joint pain
•         Weakened immunity
•         Chronic headaches
•         Infection   and more.

Lymphatic treatment helps the system to flow and provide the ability for your body to function at a premium level. Inflammation clears, the immune systems responds faster and more effectively and toxins are expelled more easily.

The benefits of Lymphatic drainage treatment are broad and include:

- Overall detoxification of the body
- Dispelling of cellulite and adipose tissue
- Alleviation of fibromyalgia symptoms
- Significant reduction in chronic fatigue
- Reduction in Edemas
- Better looking skin thereby slowing the aging process
- Relief of Sinusitis, bronchitis, and otitis
- Deep relaxation to aid memory and rid insomnia and stress

I combine the Lymphstar Pro® with manual lymphatic drainage techniques to clear the pathways in your body so that you can achieve maximum results. The Lymphstar Pro® is an electronic device designed to provide relatively low and painless electrical impulses for gentle stimulation, targeting lymphatic stimulation specifically. In turn, this oxygenates the skin and reenergizes the lymph nodes.

Manual lymphatic drainage techniques employ a wide range of specialized wave-like movements to move the skin in the same direction of lymphatic flow. This stimulates the lymph system to action, allowing substances that are critical to the body’s defense to be transported along vital vessels, and removing toxic waste.

By coordinating the two, the treatments are exceptionally effective. Clients report better cognitive ability, more energy, less insomnia, and a more enhanced perception of wellbeing.

Explore the Lymphatic System

The lymphatic system is a major component of the immune system - its proper functioning determines your body’s ability to fight invaders, maintain health and cleanse itself of toxins and wastes. It also produces lymphocytes - white blood cells that constantly scavenge the body to fight and eliminate foreign matter and microorganisms responsible for disease and infection.

THE STRUCTURE:

The lymphatic system is like a river within us that pumps 2-4 liters of lymph per day. The lymph is a clear watery-appearing fluid that contains lipids, proteins, enzymes, minerals, urea, hormones, toxins, bacteria, virus, and even cell debris.

The lymphatic vessels are present in almost every tissue in our body (except the central nervous system, bone narrow, and tissues with no blood vessels like epidermis and cartilage). It starts as lymph capillaries - very fragile but slightly larger and more permeable than the blood capillaries. They converge into pre collectors and then into lymph collectors - strong vessels with valves that prevent backflow. A deep group of lymphatic capillaries drain muscles, viscera, and other deep structures. A superficial group drains the epidermis and hypodermis.

We have around 600 lymph nodes distributed along the lymph vessels and almost all lymph fluid passes through at least one of these lymph nodes before entering the blood. The lymph node is responsible for cleaning the lymph, removing foreign substances and microorganisms, and stimulating the immune system to produce lymphocytes that will fight foreign organisms. Other lymphatic organs include the tonsils, spleen, appendix and the thymus gland.

WHEN IT DOESN’T WORK WELL:

The lymphatic system works well on its own, but lymph congestion may occur due to injury, illness, stress, and even diet. Sedentary lifestyles do not tend to stimulate lymphatic circulation as circulation relies primarily upon bodily movements and contraction of the muscles to “push” fluids through veins and valves. Without movement or massage, lymphatic circulation slows and waste lingers and lodges in cells throughout the body.

The Lymphatic System shuts down directly with stress because of the production of cortisol and adrenaline. Those hormones can be toxic for our cells because they create free radicals. Free radicals are responsible for many diseases and they are also extremely acidic for our system. The more acidic your body becomes, the less it is able to moves waste out. Insufficient intake of water combined with a poor diet slows the proper function of the lymphatic system, interfering with the body’s prompt response of waste elimination.

CONSEQUENCES OF POOR FUNCTIONING SYSTEM:

When lymph congestion occurs, toxins don’t get flushed out of the body, as they should. At some point in time or another, everyone experiences some degree of lymph conges¬tion. This can cause or exacerbate a wide range of symptoms such as:
• Weight gain
• Cellulite development
• Digestive disorders
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Headaches
• Muscle and joint pain
• Recurring infections
• Allergies
• Slow healing of wounds
• Weakened immunity

Swollen lymph glands usually occur in the neck or throat, the tonsils, the armpits, or the groin – where some main lymph nodes are located. They swell as part of the immune response – the lymphocytes rush to the scene to fight infection and then it causes swelling, tenderness, and pain. Other areas can become enlarged or inflamed such as the abdomen, breasts, elbows, knees, and even the ankles.

BENEFITS OF LYMPHATIC THERAPIES:

The Lymphatic Treatments will stimulate the functionality of the system, help to clean inflammation within the body, collect waste and toxins throughout the body for dispersal and disposal and increase the immune system response.

As a result of the treatment you will experience:
• Reduction in edemas (swelling) and lymph edema of various origins.
• Relief of numerous chronic and sub acute inflammations, including sinusitis, bronchitis and otitis.
• Relief of chronic pain.
• Reduction in the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.
• Relief from conditions such as muscle hyper tonus and some forms of constipation.
• Regeneration of tissue, including burns, wounds, stretch marks and wrinkles.
• Alleviation of adipose and cellulite tissue.
• Detoxification of the body.
• Stimulation of the immune system.
• Deep relaxation to help fight insomnia, stress, loss of vitality and loss of memory.
• Anti-aging effects - enhances the beauty and health of the skin

Following are some ways you can help your lymph system to work better:

1. Manual Lymphatic Massage: this technique uses a range of specialized and gentle hand wave-like movements to move the skin in the direction of the lymph flow. This stimulates the lymphatic vessels that carry substances vital to the defense of the body, and removes waste products.

2. Lymphatic Enhancement Technology (LET): The Lymph Star Pro® is an electronic device designed to provide an extremely low and painless electric impulses. It is used on the body for gentle stimulation of circulation, targeting the lymphatic circulation specifically, helping to stimulate the lymph nodes and oxygenate the skin. It uses two treatment heads on the skin, leaving them over key lymphatic points on the body, followed by gentle, sweeping, and massage motions over the skin to direct flow. This opens the lymph flow to the main drains for the lymph called watersheds.

Manual stimulation of 600 nodes (most of them located in areas that cannot be reached manually) and all the points in between can be prohibitively time-consuming. A better option is manual lymphatic massage, combined with LET.

3. Dry Skin Brush Technique: this technique stimulates the circulation by brushing the skin with movements towards the heart. It also promotes renovation and detoxification of the skin through exfoliation.

HELPFUL TIPS:

To stimulate lymphatic circulation and encourage the removal of waste:
• Practice movement and exercise regularly
• Massage: even light touching, toward the heart when you are showering or applying a moisturizer helps.
• Drinking lots of pure water helps to flush the toxins and waste from your system.
• Do not use clothes that block the circulation, especially areas like breast, hips, abdomen and ankles.

Other Benefits from Lymphatic Treatments:

• Pre-surgery: prepares the body and tissue for the intervention
• Post surgery: concentrate on reduction of swelling and other complications
• For any surgery removing major lymph nodes (post-mastectomy, tumor removal, etc.) • Detoxification: fasting, dieting, weight loss programs, tobacco withdrawal, toxic chemical poisoning

Lymphatic drainage massage can be combined with other techniques:

• Cellulite massage to speed the removal of toxins
• Deep tissue massage to reduce post-session soreness and swelling
• Facials to enhance the skin from the inside and out
• Body-mind work to produce a deeply relaxed state for inner work
• Sports massage to speed the healing of injuries

Lymphatic Drainage for Pre and Post Surgical Procedures

Did you know that the success of your plastic surgery not only depends on the surgical procedure, but also on how you prep your skin weeks prior to and after the operation? This prep work has been shown to help prevent possible complications and also promote more satisfactory cosmetic results.

The lymphatic treatments, like the lymphatic massage and LET massage (Lymphatic Enhancement Technology with the Lympstar Pro) are adding a remarkable importance to this segment. Not only does it prepares your skin for the procedure, but also accelerates the post-operative recovery process and helps control and prevent common complications.
General Pre-operative:

There are indications that lymphatic treatments help improve your circulation and skin moisture. It also helps to internally cleanse and detoxify the skin, preventing post-operative edema – the most common symptom for any kind of surgery. Proper advice should be followed on the use of moisturizers to help maintain an appropriate level of skin metabolism. Maintenance of the skin’s elastic properties is also an important consideration.

Another important benefit of the lymphatic drainage is that it helps to improve your immune system response to inflammations and infections. And that is a great boost before the surgery as every procedure has its risk of post-infection.

Usually patients start the pre-operative treatments one or two months before the procedure in weekly sessions, and continue as soon as the doctor releases them after the surgery.
There are indications that lymphatic treatments help improve your circulation and skin moisture. It also helps to internally cleanse and detoxify the skin, preventing post-operative edema – the most common symptom for any kind of surgery. Proper advice should be followed on the use of moisturizers to help maintain an appropriate level of skin metabolism. Maintenance of the skin’s elastic properties is also an important consideration. Another important benefit of the lymphatic drainage is that it helps to improve your immune system response to inflammations and infections. And that is a great boost before the surgery as every procedure has its risk of post-infection. Usually patients start the pre-operative treatments one or two months before the procedure in weekly sessions, and continue as soon as the doctor releases them after the surgery.
General of Post-operative:

The post-operative treatments are variable and depend on the type of surgery performed, the patient’s condition, and also how much time has passed since the operation. Treatments can begin as soon as 24hrs after the surgery, depending on your doctor’s approval.

The lymphatic treatments will help to re-establish the pathways of the lymphatic system, since vessels and capillaries were probably cut during the procedure in most likelihood. Stimulating the fluid circulation will reduce the swelling, improve skin regeneration and help heal the wound, thus optimizing the scarring process.

In addition to swelling, pain is another frequent symptom after the procedure. Sometimes the pain comes from an inflammation/infection or it can also be a structural problem like loss of mobility when the procedure cuts muscle tissue, removes part of the skin, or if the skin was expanded with silicone implants. The massage will help to alleviate the muscle pain from an uncomfortable posture during this period and promote a more relaxed and peaceful recovery.

DIY - Dry Skin Brush Technique

Detoxification is performed by a number of organs, glands, and transportation systems including the skin, gut, kidneys, liver, lungs, lymphatic system, and mucous membranes. But the skin is by far the largest and most important eliminative organ in the body. Dry skin brushing will not only renew your skin to restore its glow but also help to speed up the removal of toxins.

Dry skin brushing is a way to stimulate all of the above detoxification organs - it provides a gentle massage and stimulates lymphatic circulation. Another benefit of the technique is as a preventative for dry skin and a way to exfoliate the skin, improving the texture thus stimulating skin renewal.

Tips and Tricks for Dry Brushing:
•Use a soft natural fiber brush with a long handle, so that you can easily reach all areas of your body. A loofah sponge or a rough towel can also be used. Avoid nylon and synthetic fiber brushes because they are not as gentle with your skin. skin. Find the texture that is just right for you. Once your skin becomes “seasoned,” you can switch to a coarser brush.
•Always dry brush your dry and naked body before you shower or bathe because you will want to wash off the impurities from the skin as a result from the brushing action. Use light pressure in areas where the skin is thin and harder pressure on places like the soles of the feet.
•Preferably do the brushing toe-to-head. Long sweeping strokes starting from the bottom of your feet upwards, and from the hands towards the shoulders, and on the torso in an upward direction help drain the lymph back to your HEART. Do 5 to 10 strokes for each area.
•Dry skin brushing can be performed as many as 7 days a week or even once a week, but preferably first thing in the morning. A thorough skin brushing takes about 10 minutes, but any time spent brushing prior to bathing will benefit the body. If you are feeling ill, increase the treatments to twice a day. You can also dry brush areas of cellulite five to 10 minutes twice a day to achieve better circulation in that area.
•Avoid sensitive areas and any broken skin areas such as skin rash, wounds, cuts, and infections. Also, never brush an area affected by poison oak or poison ivy.
•Finish up with your regular shower and end with three hot and cold cycles (optional). That means turning on the water as hot as you can take it for several seconds, then as cold as you can handle it, then hot, for three cycles. End with either hot or cold. This will invigorate the skin and stimulate blood circulation to the outer layers of the skin.
•After getting out of the shower, dry off and massage your skin with pure plant oils such as olive, avocado, apricot, almond, sesame, coconut or cocoa butter.

•Clean your skin brush using soap and water once a week. After rinsing, dry your skin brush in an open, sunny spot to prevent mildew.

Learn more about the Lymphstar Pro®