The Lymphatic System

Unlike most modern massage techniques, deep tissue massage focuses on using slow, deep massage strokes to actively manipulate your muscles. This massage style seeks to relieve long-term muscle tension and stress by identifying muscle imbalances and by using a set of specifically designed techniques to move the muscles into their correct position.

Management and prevention of lymphedema is necessary to prevent complications and possible loss of function. The goal of management is to reduce swelling and pain (if present), maintain skin integrity, and prevent complications. Management of lymphedema is an ongoing lifetime process. It has been a standard in the past to discourage any type of strenuous activity and patients were often told to protect them from overuse for fear it would exacerbate the lymphedema. This actually led to patients not using their arm which lead to weakness which then predisposed the patient to injury. Patients also gained weight because of inactivity which in of itself can lead to lymphedema (Gautam, 2011).

B. Given that lymph vessels carry under very low pressure, they require assistance in moving lymph, especially vessels below the level of the heart which must move lymph upwards against gravity. The 2 mechanisms which

Massage is a very common form of therapy for all sorts of things, from stress to chronic pain. There have been numerous studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of massage in helping to manage patients’ pain while keeping them off medication. The benefit of this type of treatment is pain relief through manipulation of the body. The mechanism of action is, once again, unknown, but it is thought to be related to stimulation of muscles and the blood flow being increased. There are

LYMPHATIC SYSTEM: THE NETWORK OF VESSELS THROUGH WHICH LYMPH DRAINS FROM THE TISSUES INTO THE BLOOD. – OXFORD ONLINE DICTIONARIES

It collects excess fluid and particulate matter. It deposits them in the blood stream through the

The lymphatic system works in three ways. It helps to control the balance of the body’s fluids by draining and cleansing fluid that seeps from the circulatory system during normal cardiovascular circulation. As fluid leaves the circulatory system it enters the tissue cells and whilst the majority of it diffuses back into the vessels of the circulatory system, the remainder enters the open ends of the lymph vessels. The lymphatic system also works with the villi in the digestive system to help deliver fats and absorbed nutrients in the digested food we eat, back to the circulatory system. This fluid is not called

Modified mastectomy include removal of the entire breast (nipple, areola, the overlying skin, and the lining over the chest muscles), and most of the lymph nodes under the arm (axillary lymph nodes) Often, breast cancer spreads to these lymph nodes, thereby entering the lymphatic system and allowing the cancer to spread to other parts of the body. Removal of lymph nodes may affect the drainage of lymphatic fluid from the arm on the surgical side. Problems with lymphatic drainage may

Therapeutic massage also frequently detoxifies the human body by massaging and promoting circulation in the lymph system of an asthma patient . This rhythmic massage helps to drain the lymph which in turn releases toxins.

One of the primary techniques used by massage therapist is called effleurage. This consists of the massage therapist gliding their hands over your skin. This technique has a calming effect on your body and your nerves and helps your body to start producing endorphins.

According to the book, some of the terms and concepts that was portrayed in the massage therapy technique were shiatsu and Swedish massage. Shiatsu is a type of massage that uses pressure to release blocked energy and help with relaxation on certain points on your body. This can help with areas in our body that are sore or distressed. Furthermore, Swedish massage was another concept that was mentioned in the book. Swedish massage is a very common and well-known massage for Western cultures. It uses a lot of hand motions like kneading, stroking, and karate type chops. Swedish massage helps our body by relieving tensions for muscle tissues. Some of the Swedish massage steps that was mentioned were effleurage, petrissage, friction, kneading, tapotement, and vibration. These are different hand movements that you could do to help relieve the tensions in your muscle tissues. For instance, tapotement is a similar form of karate chops that is going to help alleviate hard muscle tensions. Self-massage was also mentioned during the technique and in the book too. Some of the self-massages that we could do on our own body are head, face, neck, shoulders, hands, legs, and feet massage. For

Lymphedema is a common condition that causes the extremities become swollen due to fluid buildup in soft tissues. Lymphedema progresses in four stages: the dormant stage, stage 1, stage 2, and stage 3. Both the dormant stage and stage one are reversible because they cause no damage to the surrounding soft tissue; however, stages 2 and 3 cause permanent damage. Symptoms of lymphedema include limb heaviness, pain, weakness, and elevated skin temperature.1 No cure exists for lymphedema, therefor constant management of symptoms is needed. Lymphedema often occurs following breast cancer treatments such as radiation therapy or mastectomy, which is referred to as secondary lymphedema. According to Iuchi et al,2 lymphedema treatment success depends on reducing the progression and extent of swelling and improving the affected patients quality of life. Researchers use objective measurements such as water displacement, circumferential measurement, perometry, and bioelectrical impedance to quantify the volume of an affected limb due to swelling. Subjective measures used to assess quality of life (QOL) present challenges in determining the effectiveness of a certain treatment modality. Researchers incorporate standardized questionnaires to try and assess a treatments success subjectively. Complete decongestive therapy (CDT), which includes compression bandaging,

Massage therapy can help with alleviating muscle tension, diminishing stress, and bringing to mind feelings of calmness, along with helping chronic fatigue syndrome, easing chronic constipation, and enhancing self image. It also manipulates the activity of the musculoskeletal, circulatory, lymphatic, and nervous systems in the body. Clinical studies have revealed that massage relieves chronic back pain more effectively than other treatments and most times it is more cost effective than other treatments ("University of Maryland Medical Center").

The immune system is the body's third line of defense. It is a network of several tissues and white blood cells. The tissues of the immune system are bone marrow, thymus, lymph nodes, spleen, tonsils, and adenoids. The white blood cells of the immune system are called lymphocytes (Postlethwait Hopson, Modern Biology).

Lymphatic massage was introduced in the 1930s by Danish physiotherapists Dr. Emil Vodder and his wife (Benjamin, 2010). His wife Astrid Vodder practiced naturopath. Emil Vodder studied at the University of Copenhagen for biology, botany, and mineralogy, later began showing interest in the physical medicine along with the lymphatic system. Vodder knew many scientists who had studied the mysterious “clear water” centuries ago, scientist such as Gaspare Aselli (1581–1626) who discovered the lacteal vessels in the lymphatic system, Jean Pecquet (1622-1674) described the cisterna chyli and the thoracic duct leading to the venous arch (Wittlinger, 2004). Olaus Rudbeck discovered the lymph vessels of the colon and rectum and confirmed that these vessels lead to the cisterna chyli as Aselli had described already. Rudbeck was the first who discovered that the lymph from the tissue runs into lymph vessels and to the thoracic duct back to the blood circulation. In the 18th century it was discovered that the whole body contained lymph vessels and that the task of the lymph vessel system is to absorb tissue liquid. Vodder and his wife moved to Paris, France in 1933 to practice the modality on his patients (Wittlinger, 2004). The concept of lymph drainage by massage therapy is similar to opening a valve of a tube filled with water and allowing the water to flow into another tube to release pressure and alleviate build up in the lymph nodes. The carefully circling pumping movements