What is the lymphatic system?
Our body is made up of several complex systems that help regulate our constants and keep us in harmony with ourselves. The best known are the nervous system or the blood system. They are all interconnected highways throughout the body that work cooperatively. However, all these connections and this work that allows our body to function well all day also produces a lot of waste. This is where our lymphatic system comes into play.
The role of your lymphatic system is to remove waste from your body. It is made up of highways like the blood or nervous system but also of connection centers: lymph nodes. It is these nodes that the doctor feels, for example, under your jaw in the event of illness because they swell in the event of abnormal activity, which is the case during infection or illness because a large quantity of waste will be produced.
But then why do lymphatic drainage?
Lymphatic drainage has two main interests:
A purely aesthetic interest and an interest in health.
Our body accumulates liquids over time for many different reasons such as too much salt consumption, or even a lack of physical activity or simply genetics that promote water retention. The result of this accumulation of water will generally be visible on the legs but also on the stomach or arms. And will result in swelling or feelings of heaviness.
The interest of lymphatic drainage in this first case is to reduce swelling by activating the elimination of accumulations of liquid and waste through the lymphatic system. Once the excess fluid is eliminated, the feeling of heaviness disappears. It is not uncommon to see differences of several centimeters in waist circumference or thigh circumference before and after a lymphatic drainage session. But beware the impressive results do not appear at each session, the lymphatic system after activation continues to work for several days, so you can lose extra centimeters in the days following the session.
Finally, it is advisable to do lymphatic drainage regularly for its second effect: that on health! People who do not necessarily suffer from water retention must also be drained regularly in the event of a digestive disorder or simply to boost their immune system. The lymphatic system cleans us of body waste and sometimes needs help, and prevention is often the best medicine.
A few tips for the days following your session:
Drink a lot of water ! At least 2L of water per day will allow you to increase your renal activity which will boost your treatment.
Go to bed early at night! A good night’s sleep starts early, it’s the night that your organs work the most and not all schedules are created equal.
Practice intense physical activity! The more your heart rate increases, the more your cleaning stations and pumps such as your lymphatic system, your kidneys or your liver filter at high speed and it is important to keep them in shape.
Finally, avoid alcohol which slows down your cleaning organs mentioned above and which promotes water retention.