What is Lymphatic Congestion?

Lymphatic congestion is often seen in pregnant/postpartum women, and is indicative of compromised fluid metabolism.

Even if you are not pregnant, you may still have lymphatic congestion.

One indication is if you are swelling in different parts of the body, e.g. your ankle, fingers or even face.

Another clear indication would be swollen lymph nodes.

What is Lymphatic Drainage?

Lymphatic Drainage is a treatment modality that involves mostly very gentle hand movements which move the lymph fluid through your body.

Some of you think of it as some kind of massage. No, it is not! The lymphatic system is way more sensitive than the musculoskeletal system. You cannot strong-arm your way into decongesting the lymphatic system.

Lymphatic Drainage facilitates waste elimination in the body helping the body clear out accumulated fluids and toxins in the body.

Your lymphatic system may be congested and sluggish if you have the following presentations:

1. Water retention caused by sluggish lymph flow, swollen nodal blockages, inflammation and infection.
2. Digestive disorders
3. Frequent and recurring illnesses
4. Hormonal imbalances
5. Chronic fatigue
6. Allergies
7. Chronic sinusitis
8. Skin conditions
9. Chronic joint aches and pains

If the body’s lymphatic system is compromised, the person may also be less responsive to medical interventions, medicines or supplements.

We use our hands.

We do not use machines.

Our practitioner has cultivate exquisite sensitivity to the lymphatic system. She has fine-tuned her palpatory touch over many years of experience.

Precision over Protocol

We don’t do protocols. We do not do the same sequence of massage on all the people coming in.

Everyone presents differently, and even the same person will present different from time to time.

We use our hands to do an initial assessment of the body, after which we proceed to treat with a goal in mind (that we share with you).

1. We will first assess you.

At every session, we will map out your lymphatic system.

We will do this with our hands.

We will be able to:

(a) tell you where there is congestion

(b) tell you the approximate flow efficiency rate of your lymphatic system.

2. We will then clear out the gunk.

Many of our clients present with a tendency toward lymphatic congestion.

If you are one of these people whose systems are more sluggish, we will first work to clear your system.

Precise assessment and treatment allows us to know:

(a) when and where to clear congested nodes

(b) when and where drain areas of retention.

1. Compromised fluid metabolism during and after pregnancy.

Because Soma Clinic works with Pregnant and Postpartum women, we see many patients who suffer from a compromised fluid metabolism during the third and even in the second trimester.

Pregnant women who opt for PRECISE Lymphatic Drainage usually present with swelling in the upper and/or lower limbs. In more severe cases, there is also swelling around the face and the torso.

2. Swelling in the lower limbs due to Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW)

Some of patients come for PRECISE Lymphatic Drainage because they suffer from a skin condition called Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW).

The treatment strategy is to clear out an extremely congested lymphatic system, with enlarged nodes often found in the inguinal, popliteal (knee) nodes of the body.

4. Swelling due to Physical Trauma

Swelling can be caused by incomplete recovery from physical trauma. A good example would be swelling from a sports injury, e.g. swollen ankles are common.

PRECISE Lymphatic Drainage is also very useful for for post-operative recovery. There is often lymphatic congestion after a surgical intervention. These include:

• spinal ops
• TKR
• liposuction
• c-section
• diastasis recti surgery
• mastectomy

PRECISE Lymphatic Drainage helps to reduce swelling, minimize tissue adhesion and can speed up the recovery process.

5. Post-Covid / Long Covid

PRECISE Lymphatic Drainage intervention may help to reduce fatigue symptoms related to Post-Covid or Long Covid.

There are four subscales when it comes to post-Covid fatigue:

• Physical malaise
• Emotional distress
• Cognitive difficulty
• Somatic symptoms

Consider coming for PRECISE Lymphatic Drainage if you are

• experiencing respiratory issues like shortness of breath and intermittent/lingering cough
• having difficulty in standing for long
• experiencing slowness of thought
• feeling anxious
• feeling faint
• feeling heaviness in the limbs
• experiencing physical tiredness from the most minimal effort
• Experience menstrual cycle disruptions

There are a number of easy and effective ways to improve the health of both your cardiovascular and lymphatic circulatory systems:

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Exercise regularly (both cardio and strength training).
3. Eat healthily.
4. DIY Lymphatic Drainage, dry brushing and rebounding exercises.
5. If necessary, schedule yourself in for regular sessions of Lymphatic Drainage to tune up your system.

If you are congested, you may feel the side-effects of the treatment.

Although the treatment may seem rather gentle, but because PRECISE Lymphatic Drainage is a kind of ‘detox’ treatment, some possible post-treatment responses include:

1. Fatigue
2. Body aches
3. Headaches
4. Diarrhea
5. Increased skin irritation for patients with skin conditions

Why do I want to receive PRECISE Lymphatic Drainage if there are side-effects?

Those responses mentioned above are detox responses, otherwise known as Herxheimer reactions.

Herxheimer reactions are short-term detox reactions in the body. As the body detoxifies, it is not uncommon to experience flu-like symptoms including general malaise, headache, body aches and even digestive upset.

That said, despite these one-off reactions, MLDT does facilitate an elimination of unwanted/toxic substances from the body!

Contraindications:

For the most part, lymphatic drainage therapy is safe.

However, there are a few conditions that are contraindicated, and this happens when an increase of lymph flow would be detrimental, such as:

• Acute inflammation caused by bacteria, viruses, poisons or allergens
• Malignant tumors
• Thrombosis & Phlebitis
• Major heart problems

are all contraindications to lymphatic drainage treatment.