What is Manual Lymphatic Drainage(MLD)?

   Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) is a very light superficial technique that works to stimulate the flow of the lymphatic system and promote lymphatic fluid to be drained out of a limb into an area that drains normally.

What can Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD)Treat?

Manual lymph drainage(MLD) can be successfully applied, particularly with the following diagnoses:

  ▪ Lymphedema (primary and secondary forms)
  ▪ Lipedema (and combined forms such as lipo-lymphedema) and benign                              symmetrical lipomatosis (Madelung's syndrome)
 ▪ Phlebo-lymphostatic edema
 ▪ Posttraumatic and postoperative edema
 
MLD also can be used in the following situations:

  ▪ Swelling(ankle or knee etc)
  ▪ Fibromyalgia
  ▪ Chronic fatigue
  ▪ Insomnia
  ▪ Stress
  ▪ Digestive problems
  ▪ Arthritis
  ▪ Migraine 

Why do you need Manual Lymphatic Drainage?

    The lymph system is part of your body's immune system and helps fight infection. Lymph itself is a clear, slightly yellow fluid. It transports nutrients and oxygen to cells, collecting toxins on the way and flushing them out through the lymph nodes.  
 
   You have around twice as many lymph vessels as blood vessels in your body. However, unlike blood, which is pumped around by your heart, the lymph system has no pump.
 
   The pressure from your blood vessels and movement from your muscles push the lymphatic fluid around. As the lymph does not function very well for some reason, your body gets the fluid stuck somewhere(normally happens in the ankle, knee, elbow, etc), which forms the fluid retention, as a result, you have swelling in your body.
 
   This is mainly the situation you need to undergo an MLD session to get the problem sorted.


 

How many treatments do you need for Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD)?

Normally the Manual Lymphatic Drainage involves 2 phases
   1. Initial phase: As the symptoms are not stable, we recommend our patients to come every 5-6 days for the first 5 treatments to see the changes and differences.

   2. Maintenance phase: Treatment is suggested to be done in every 3-4 weeks, as to maintain the effect and to prevent refilling of the extremity with edema. 
 
What is the difference between massage treatment and Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD)?

   The big difference is pressure. In the MLD session, touch needs to be very light, so light your mind will tell you it can't possibly be effective, especially if you're used to deep tissue massage.

  However, 70% of the lymphatic vessels are located just underneath the skin. If you use too much pressure, you bypass these vessels. The lighter the touch, the more powerful the effect on the lymphatic system compared to massage therapy.