What Does The Lymphatic System Do?

The lymphatic system eliminates waste and protects your body from disease. It has five major functions:

• Draining excess fluid from all your body tissues.
• Absorbing fats, water-soluble vitamins, and proteins from your digestive system and carrying them to the bloodstream.
• Releasing white blood cells to fight diseases and infections.
• Filtering toxins out of your body fluids.
• Transporting waste products and damaged cells away from the tissues.

What Are the Symptoms of Poor Lymphatic Drainage?

• Fluid retention can cause swelling and pain in the arms, legs, fingers, toes, head, or neck.
• The affected area may have aches and pains or a feeling of heaviness.
• Swollen lymph nodes that do not go down.
• You may notice skin problems such as discoloration, blisters, infection, or fluid leaking.
• It can cause earache, vision problems, or nasal congestion.
• You may have difficulty breathing, swallowing, or talking.

What are problems caused by chronic lymph blockages?

If the lymph system gets blocked or overrun lymph fluid backs up. This chronic lymph blockage can cause swelling, joint pain, nausea, and fatigue, as well as the symptoms listed below.

Stagnant lymph can be stored within lymph nodes for a long time but will eventually become too toxic for the body to manage. Any extreme blockage – which may be due to illness or toxic overload – may cause lymph fluid to back up, leading to swelling in surrounding tissue, a condition which is called lymphedema.

Back up of lymph fluid can also restrict the system’s ability to eliminate more serious concerns, such as bacteria and cancerous or diseased cells from organ tissue. Viral infections, bacteria and cancerous cells move through the lymph fluid, where they are targeted and destroyed in the lymph nodes — when the system can do it.

What are symptoms of chronic lymph blockage?

The lymph system cleans almost every one of your body’s cells, so when you have a chronic lymph blockage, you will feel it quickly and can suffer symptoms throughout your entire body. Symptoms of chronic lymph blockage include:

• Worsened allergies and food sensitivities
• Headaches and migraines
• Joint pain and arthritis
• Frequent cold and flu infections
• Menstrual cramps
• Breast tenderness and fibrocystic breasts
• Sinusitis
• GI issues including loss of appetite
• Muscle cramping, tissue swelling
• Acne
• Cellulite
• Fatigue
• Mental fuzziness
• Depression/mood irregularities
• Heaviness in the abdomen

How Does Lymphatic Drainage Therapy Work?

Lymphatic Drainage Therapy works by redirecting lymph to functional parts of the lymphatic system. This great spa therapy stimulates the contraction of lymphatic vessels and helps decongest the affected area. It is mild, non-invasive, and will bring you relief and improved functionality.

What Is Lymphatic Drainage?

Lymphatic drainage is the natural function performed by your lymphatic system. As blood flows throughout your body, blood plasma leaks into the interstitium, which is the space between cells. This thin, yellowish interstitial fluid is called lymph. It is a multicomponent mixture of water, nutrients and proteins, lymphocytes, and all the substances your cells produce and excrete. As your muscles contract, lymph is squeezed into lymphatic capillaries and then into larger lymphatic vessels. These drain into lymph nodes all over your body. From here, it is returned to your bloodstream.

Lymphatic drainage problems can occur for a wide variety of reasons, including genetic, lymph node removal or cancer, chronic infections and inflammation, poor nutrition, lack of movement, surgical procedures, and more. If lymph doesn’t drain properly, your lymphatic system may become congested and inflamed. This can cause painful swelling known as lymphedema.

What is assisted-Lymphatic Therapy?

This is a gentle, equipment-based, light touch, non-invasive technique to stimulate the proper flow and drainage of the lymphatic system. A combination of vibrational, light, and electrical waves helps to stimulate lymph flow by causing the dissociation of proteins that have become trapped in the interstitium. When trapped proteins (not to be confused with nutrient proteins) release their bonds, the stagnant lymph is liberated and will flow out into its normal filtration and reabsorption channels. In comparison to standard lymphatic massage, ALT can penetrate up to 8 inches into the tissue and provides a more efficient pathway for lymphatic detox. This therapy supports proper fluid balance throughout the body, enhances immune function, and provides a powerful means of detoxification. All forms of inflammation respond favorably to this therapy.

Lymphatic Drainage Therapy is suggested for the average healthy person for 6-8 weeks per year. For people with severe lymphatic congestion, this is considered a starting point. Advanced health concerns can require ongoing treatment for 3-6 months, followed by maintenance care.