BAYOU HEALTH: GO WITH THE (LYMPHATIC) FLOW

By Shannon Dahlum

THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM is part of your immune system, and it includes a network of organs, lymph vessels and lymph nodes which make and move fluid throughout the body.  It’s responsible for making and circulating white blood cells to fight off infection, and it also helps to filter out waste material.  It’s essentially a super highway for waste to travel from the cells to your detox organs, like the liver and kidneys. 

Lymph fluid travels through the lymph vessels to the lymph nodes, which filter the fluid and remove foreign material, like bacteria and cancer cells.  When the nodes detect bacteria, they produce white blood cells to help fight off the invaders.  This white blood cell production can cause the lymph nodes to swell and you may then be able to feel them in the neck, armpit, or groin.  There are also main lymph nodes in the center of the chest and abdomen, but these are deep enough in the body that you won’t be able to feel them. 

The lymphatic system circulates lymph fluid similarly to how your circulatory system circulates blood, but with one major difference; while blood is pumped through the body via the heart, lymph fluid has no way of moving on its own.  The movement of lymph fluid relies on gravity and the movement of your body.  This is one reason regular movement is so vital for overall health.  If your body is sedentary, your lymph fluid is stagnant and waste material can’t effectively be shuttled out of the body.  Some of the most effective movements for encouraging lymph flow include bouncing, like jump roping or bounding on a trampoline.  Walking and even stretching and twisting are also effective.  Deep breathing that fully expands and contracts the diaphragm massages the organs and encourages lymph movement deep within the body, as well. 

Even with regular physical movement, lymph flow can become blocked within the vessels.  If the fluid can’t make it to the nodes and eventually to the detox organs, it backs up.  It’s like a traffic jam on your internal highway.  Lymph vessels lie just below the skin’s surface, so this can be seen and felt as fluid retention, or swelling.  I frequently have clients asking me how they can lose the excess lower abdominal fat that’s accumulated in their 40’s and 50’s, but often, this is actually not excess fat, but fluid under the skin.  The intestines are a very common site of inflammation because of microbiome imbalances, leaky gut, food sensitivities, and hidden gut infections, which are all very prevalent today.  This leads to immune activation and inflammation in this area and if the lymphatic system isn’t able to continually clear the waste here, it will accumulate under the skin.  Eventually, the bumpy appearance of cellulite can appear on the abdomen, hips, and thighs as well, due to the build up of fluid.  This back up in the system interferes with immune system function and traps inflammation in the tissue.   

If you’re exercising daily but you’re still noticing swelling or fluid retention in any area of your body, or the appearance of cellulite, there are some other practices that can help encourage better lymph movement.  Manual lymphatic drainage massage done by a massage therapist trained specifically in lymph drainage can be really helpful.  This is a very light touch massage in which the therapist manually pushes the lymph fluid toward the lymph nodes. Remember that the lymph vessels sit directly below the skin, above the muscles, so it requires a very light touch. 

There are also several ways you can manually encourage lymph movement yourself.  Dry brushing, gua sha, and cupping techniques are options you can try at home.  With dry brushing, a stiff bristled brush is used to gently “sweep” the skin from the outer extremities toward the heart in short movements.  It’s usually recommended to do this right before you bathe or shower because it also exfoliates dead skin cells.  Fiesta Nutrition Center carries both large dry brushes for your body and smaller ones designed for your face. 

Gua sha is rooted in traditional Chinese medicine and it loosely translates to “scraping, rubbing or pushing.”  It involves the use of a smooth, flat stone, usually made from jade or rose quartz, to gently push fluid from puffy areas toward the lymph nodes.  Again, very light pressure is used to target the lymph vessels, as opposed to firm pressure used to target muscles.  Gua sha is often effectively used to decrease puffiness in the face and jaw, which also provides a more youthful appearance. 

Lastly, cupping is another technique you can do at home.  The cups used for lymph movement are much softer and gentler than what you may have seen or experienced in a physical therapy office.  Unlike cupping that targets the muscles and can leave bruises, cupping massage for lymph drainage uses soft silicone cups that gently suction to and can slide across oiled skin to pull fluid toward the lymph nodes.  Cups are inexpensive and available in a variety of sizes to cover different areas of the body, from large cups to cover the hips and thighs, to tiny ones that can be used on the face. I purchased a silicone cupping therapy set that included 7 various sizes for about $15 on Amazon.   

Before starting your own lymph drainage massage at home, find a lymphatic drainage map to refer to.  These are easily found online, and they illustrate the direction of lymphatic flow in every area of your body. It’s important to work in the direction of this flow, rather than against it.  You can also find an abundance of online tutorials to guide you.  Some of my favorite lymph educators to follow on social media are Wildling Beauty for gua sha techniques, and Lymph Love Club for manual self drainage massage.  When in doubt, search for a certified manual lymph drainage massage therapist and leave it to the professionals!  But don’t forget to move your body daily to encourage that flow.