What is Manual Lymphatic Drainage?

Manual lymphatic drainage

Manual lymphatic drainage - the lymphatic systemManual lymphatic drainage (MLD) uses a gentle massage technique and aims to promote and to regulate the circulation of the lymph . Lymph flows within the lymphatic system, the third circulatory system of the body.

The lymphatic system is formed by vessels and lymph nodes. Unlike the cardiovascular system, the lymphatic system does not have a pump (the heart) and it depends on the action of gravity and the movement of the muscles to pump the lymph around the system. Lymph is an interstitial liquid, surrounding both, the cells and each organ of the body.

The lymph, a physiological part of our body, brings to the cells the nutrition they require and removes any toxic elements and particles that are too large to be removed in the blood.

MLD will stimulates and regulates this nutritional exchange between the lymph and the cells of the body by: –

  • Promoting the elimination of the toxins and the accumulated residues of the interstitial liquid
  • Promoting the distribution of nutritive elements (particularly fats) within the cells
  • Enhancing the body’s immune defenses by cleaning the lymph nodes of the accumulated residues, which lessen their natural defense activity.

Manual lymphatic drainage detoxifies the body and helps to re-establish an energy of a better quality, without which neither health nor well-being can exist. It also produces a state of profound relaxation, therefore serving as an efficient aid in daily life and the stress inherent to it.