Benefits of Lymphatic Drainage Massage
Lymphatic drainage massage can help move trapped fluid when you have lymphedema. Your lymphedema specialist may use manual lymph drainage along with other techniques, including:
- Exercises
- Compression bandages, sleeves, or stockings
- A sleeve that inflates on and off to put pressure on your arms or legs (sequential pneumatic compression)
Many people get lymphedema during recovery from breast cancer surgery involves the removal of breast tissue to treat or prevent breast cancer, lymph drainage massage can help ease mild to moderate symptoms after surgery.
Treating other health conditions
Lymphatic drainage massage may help treat other health problems, too. Some conditions may improve more with the massage than others.
Studies have found some lymphatic massage benefits for conditions including:
Rheumatoid arthritis. If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you may have poor lymph flow as the disease gets worse. Along with tissue swelling, pain in the joints increases, joints lose their function, and the skin changes color. Lymph drainage massage can help ease these later-stage rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.
Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). Chronic venous insufficiency is when the valves or walls of the veins that are in the legs don’t work well. This makes it hard for the blood to flow back to the heart from the legs. Lymphatic drainage massage can help increase the speed of blood flow in people with CVI.
The massage can make the femoral artery – the large artery in the thigh – perform better right after the session. It’s unclear how long this impact lasts or whether the massage provides long-term relief from pain and swelling. Further research in this area would help shed more light on how well this massage technique works on CVI.
Fibromyalgia. Lymph drainage massage may help people with fibromyalgia. This condition causes inflammation of the skin nerves, discoloration of the skin, and tissue swelling. The massage has been shown to be better than connective tissue massage in treating depression, stiffness, and improving quality of life for those living with fibromyalgia.
Lipedema. This is the name for when you have lymphedema from fat in your lower body that blocks lymph from draining through your lymphatic system.
What Happens During a Lymphatic Drainage Massage?
Your massage therapist will follow a particular sequence, using a series of massage techniques, including stretching, compressing, gliding, and cupping motions. They’ll start with the main lymph drains. These include lymph nodes in your:
- Neck
- Groin
- Armpits
Light movements stimulate your lymphatic system without pressing hard on your vessels. They make the lymph fluid move easily through your nodes and tissues, making sure the fluid doesn’t get trapped anywhere.
Lymphatic drainage has two steps. They are:
- Clearing. During this step, your tissues will release lymph fluid.
- Reabsorption. Your lymph fluid moves into your lymph nodes.