I didn't know that! Manual Lymphatic Drainage for Self-Care
Updated: Oct 22
I didn’t know. This is what “Sally” told me last week. I have been hearing many, many times in my relatively new office in De Pere, WI. Knowledge is power and I spend a lot of time educating my clients about many wellness topics as it relates to my bodywork and nutritional health coaching practice.
We don’t know what we don’t know. I feel as a health practitioner an educated client is a healthier client because they better understand the consequences of not doing the things that are good for their overall wellness, healing, and recovery from injury. It is very unfortunate though when I hear time and time again that “the doctor didn’t tell me that” or “the doctor mention anything” or “the surgeon said manual lymphatic drainage massage is not beneficial”. Yikes. I could spend five pages on each of these comments, but I will spare you.
As a certified manual lymphatic drainage, or MLD for short, therapist working with clients pre and post cosmetic or orthopedic surgery I’m finding that I need to spend more time with clients educating them on the benefits of manual lymphatic drainage and self-care around it.
Since “Sally” and the handful of other clients didn’t have a lot of information before their cosmetic surgery, here are a few tips to keep in mind should you ever opt for cosmetic or orthopedic surgery in the greater Green Bay, WI area.
Manual lymphatic drainage therapy is a very gentle therapeutic approach to move and stimulate lymphatic fluid and your immune system before surgery and drain the toxins out of the body and help heal faster after a cosmetic procedure such as augmentation, liposuction, BBL, facelift clients. Similarly for orthopedic surgery such as knee scopes or replacements, hip replacements, rotator cuff repair, and the like.
MLD reduces post-surgical issues of swelling, bruising, scaring and excess fluid retention. It speeds recovery. It boosts the immune system.
Eating a diet high in fresh vegetables and fruits is important. High inflammatory foods, such as packaged food, fast food, ice cream, potato chips, candy and the like causes your body to work harder as it is already trying to rid toxin. The simple carbohydrates from the sugar and high inflammatory foods add fuel to the fire.
Water helps flush the toxins out. Water, water, water, water. Drinking lots of water will cause you to use the bathroom frequently throughout the day. Let it all go! The toxins are released in your waste so be happy to see it go down the toilet.
“Sally” mentioned she wasn’t very active in her everyday life. I encouraged her to engage in some light exercises such as walking, biking, or jogging to keep the muscles active and her
lymphatic system working. Muscle contraction stimulates the lymphatic system.
MLD is an excellent way to help promote the healing process and is appropriate for almost any surgery or procedure. I want to be your wellness partner. If you are planning surgery or already had surgery, give Whole Body Balancing a call at 920-336-6365 to discuss how manual lymphatic drainage can be an asset to your overall wellness.
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