Is lymphatic drainage effective? Can lymphatic massage help you lose weight? Lymphedema therapists debunk 3 myths

Lymphedema has been classified as a new chronic disease by the medical community and may happen to you and me, whether it is caused by congenital heredity, after cancer surgery, or various unknown physical discomforts. When the "symptoms" of edema persist for a long time, it will cause "disease". Especially at this moment when someone is diagnosed with cancer every four minutes, and up to 70% of people will experience symptoms of lymphedema after cancer surgery.

The care of lymphedema requires not only the guidance of professionals, but also a correct understanding of it by oneself. Otherwise, blindly believing in rumors or folk remedies during the treatment process may lead to greater health risks. International lymphedema therapist Tsai Meng-ting will explain some lymphatic myths, such as "Is lymphatic detoxification effective?" and "Can lymphatic massage help you lose weight?"

Myth 1- Can lymphatic massage help you lose weight?

"Lymphatic massage" is a massage technique that is performed on the deep fascia or muscle layer based on the direction of lymph flow. Most of them are carried out in the form of smooth stroking and long pushing, so a lubricating medium is required, such as massage oil.

Clinical studies have found that correctly performed lymphatic massage may have some effects similar to lymphatic drainage, but the duration is relatively short and it cannot effectively induce autonomous contraction and propulsion of lymphatic vessels. However, lymphatic massage still has the effect of relaxing people and promoting passive fluid circulation, and is also a widely used technique in the body beauty industry. However, if you say that lymphatic massage can be used to lose weight, this is a big misunderstanding!

A good lymphatic massage can relieve some of the tangled and messy fascia. Since the fascia tissue has a certain degree of plasticity, the body lines will look firmer and smoother after a lymphatic massage. In addition, the passive push of body fluids back along the lymphatic flow will expel excess water from the body, and there will also be a temporary decrease in weight. These reasons may give people the illusion that they will lose weight after having a lymphatic massage.

The real enemy of obesity: subcutaneous fat

After reading this, you must be wondering: "What about fat? Can fat be pushed away? Someone shared that a masseur helped her push the fat from her waist up to her chest, which helped her lose weight and enlarge her breasts at the same time!"

That’s a really great question! If we all know that fat cells are the most loyal cells, we can probably guess that they are definitely not so easy to deal with! Generally, massage affects subcutaneous fat. The cells in the subcutaneous fat layer have a "fat sheath" structure, which not only helps the fat cells to form, but also serves the purpose of fixing them to the basal layer.

Simply put, after subcutaneous fat cells are born, they will stay in their original positions with loyalty, and will accept our beatings, scoldings, and pushing and pressing, and will never leave them until the day they die.

The half-life of general subcutaneous fat cells is 2 to 3 years. That is to say, if you really want the subcutaneous fat in a certain area to disappear, after 2 to 3 years, at most only half of the fat in this area will be replaced. At the same time, don’t forget that new small fat cells will continue to be produced!

If you really want to lose weight, you still need to return to the most basic conditions: diet (calorie) control, exercise prescription, good and sufficient sleep, and physical fitness with normal metabolic function. Currently, there is no simple, convenient and harmless weight loss method. Only by paying attention to the health factors that the body lacks and supplementing them in the right way can we accumulate and possess long-term health capital.

If you really want to lose weight, you still need to return to the most basic conditions: diet (calorie) control, exercise prescription, good and sufficient sleep, and physical fitness with normal metabolic function.

Myth 2-What does lymphatic detoxification eliminate?

Now that we have a more advanced understanding of "lymph", let's talk about the "lymphatic detoxification" that everyone loves. First of all, let’s define what “toxic” is!

In clinical medicine, the definition of "poison" usually refers to foreign substances that are harmful to life, such as bee venom, snake venom, chemical poisons, free radicals, etc. If you are really poisoned, you must rely on the corresponding antidote to save your life. Therefore, from the perspective of clinical medicine, the practice of "detoxification" is mostly a medical intervention measure when life is in danger.

Think about it again, if there really is "poison" in our body, who will help us excrete it? According to the way the human body works, the most important roles in assisting detoxification are the liver and kidneys! When they receive the body's distress signal, they will activate the detoxification mechanism and work hard to break down the poison molecules, and expel the harmful toxins from the body through elimination reactions such as urination, defecation, and sweating. This is also one of the reasons why when the human body comes into contact with toxic substances or consumes too much toxic food, it is very likely to cause acute or chronic liver and kidney failure. The liver and kidneys are the main players in helping the human body detoxify. What about the lymphatic system? Are they of any help? Recall what we have mentioned before: the main function of the lymphatic system is "transportation". Therefore, when it comes to detoxification, the lymphatic system transports toxins to various parts of the body.

What? Isn’t this serious? Isn't it supposed to help detox? How come the poison is sent to all parts of the body? However, when there are toxins in the body, the lymphatic system's mode of operation is indeed to transport these substances to various places. Because that’s its natural function!

During the transportation process, the lymph nodes help filter and concentrate body fluids filled with toxins. The collected toxins, those with small molecules, may have the opportunity to be detoxified and eliminated by the liver and kidneys during transportation; if the molecules are large (such as PM2.5) and cannot be decomposed, they will eventually be stored in the lymph nodes until the lymph nodes become dysfunctional and die due to the accumulation of too many toxins.

The effect of lymphatic detoxification is actually illogical

Seeing this, whether judging from the literal meaning or the actual operation, it should be clear that the so-called "lymphatic detoxification" is actually an artificial word that has been created. It seems to be useful for health, but in fact it has no logic.

Some people may say that poisons are not necessarily that poisonous! Metabolic waste can also be considered a kind of poison! Of course, the consequences of the accumulation of metabolic waste should not be underestimated. Precisely because it cannot be underestimated, we need to use more honest, practical and effective knowledge and practices to help the body truly eliminate metabolic waste, right?

"Lymphatic detoxification" seems to satisfy everyone's desire for health, but beneath the sweet coating, are there many confusing commercial operations hidden?

Myth 3: Is SPA the same as lymphatic treatment?

Someone said: "I have lymphedema, and the beautician at the beauty salon said they can handle it. If there is a problem with the lymph nodes, you just need to do a SPA! Just push and press, and clear the lymph nodes, it's not that difficult!"

That would be really great! I also wish that lymphatic treatment could be so easy and hassle-free, so that there would be tens of millions fewer friends in the world suffering from lymphedema. Medical researchers and clinical therapists no longer have to rack their brains to help people stay away from the pain caused by lymphedema. This is not the case. SPA brings relief from physical tension and psychological relaxation. After a professional and high-quality SPA, you can achieve physical and mental relaxation and perhaps be in a healthier state. Lymphedema is a chronic disease. Prevention is better than treatment, and control is better than neglect. Just like we wouldn't go to a butcher shop and ask the boss to perform surgery, after all, just cutting with a knife is not surgery. Likewise, lymphatic-related care at a spa should not be considered medical assistance.

When there is a problem with the lymphatic system, general health care methods can no longer help us restore our health. Instead, we need to ask a medical institution to ask a specialist doctor or therapist to do a complete examination and evaluation to find the real source of the problem, prescribe the right medicine, and restore the body to health through correct treatment.

This article is excerpted from the book "Lymphedema - The Bible for Reducing Swelling and Relieving Pain" by Sancai Culture. Author: Cai Mengting