Lymphatic drainage wrap

Why do treatments that activate lymph circulation, including lymphatic drainage wraps, help improve not only your skin but your overall health?

Because the lymphatic system of the body and the lymph circulating through its vessels perform the most important functions: rid the tissues of waste products and toxins (which are filtered in the lymph nodes and then excreted by the kidneys); deliver to the tissues immune defense cells (lymphocytes) and isolate pathogens located in the interstitium (intercellular space); provide metabolism between the blood, intercellular fluid and tissue cells.

Indications for the procedure

It is recommended to resort to lymphatic drainage wraps in the presence of signs of lymphatic drainage disorders - stagnation of fluid in the interstitium, which manifests itself in the form of peripheral edema, while outside the state of lymphostasis volume of intercellular fluid can be up to half the weight of skin tissues and about 10% of skeletal muscle.

If your legs become "puffy" and "heavy" in the evening, this is a sign of edema. And in order not to miss the development of lymphedema or chronic venous insufficiency you should go not to a cosmetic or spa salon, but to a vascular surgeon or phlebologist.

Lymphatic drainage wraps are attributed the ability to cure cellulite (dystrophic change of subcutaneous tissue - fat and connective tissue), to reduce weight and reduce the subcutaneous fat layer, as well as to remove accumulated toxins from the body. And there is no need for clarification here.

Visible effect of improving the texture of the skin with cellulite is present, as lymphatic drainage wraps help to reduce fluid stagnation in the intercellular space, which makes the skin smoother and firmer. Also read - Cellulite: general principles of correction

But this procedure does not break down the cells of subcutaneous fat tissue, and "slimming" is only a short-lived effect of water loss and disappearance of swelling.

As for detoxification, the liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs, tissue macrophage system are involved in this process. The blood-filtering liver is responsible for the biochemical transformation of xenobiotics and endogenous toxic substances (by expressing an enzyme, cytochrome P450); toxins filtered by the liver are released into the bile, which carries them to the small intestine, and from the large intestine they are eliminated with feces.

The kidneys remove toxins through tubular filtration of the blood, but toxins cannot leave the body through the skin, except for very small amounts of urea, sodium, potassium and magnesium - with sweat. However, the epidermis has dendritic cells with immunologic function, identical to tissue macrophages - Langerhans cells, which protect the skin from infection. They mediate an appropriate adaptive immune response formed by the lymphatic system - lymphocytes in the regional lymph nodes.

Preparation

Preparation for lymphatic drainage wrapping consists of cleaning the skin (under the shower) with a loofah or body scrub. If the procedure is carried out in a salon, a massage is performed.

Technique of the lymphatic drainage wrap

The technique of hot wrapping consists in applying a heated gel or paste-like composition to the body, the ingredients of which can be peloids (therapeutic mud), blue clay, kelp (seaweed), salt, camphor, extracts of medicinal plants, aloe juice, honey, essential oils (rosemary, orange, cinnamon, jojoba, lavender, etc.). The composition is overlaid with a foam film, wrapping it in a spiral around the relevant parts of the body (in a lying position), starting from the bottom, and on top of the insulated (ordinary or thermal blanket). The standard duration of the procedure is 30-45 minutes.

Without insulation and heating, cold lymphatic drainage wrapping is carried out, for which the same compositions with the addition of menthol or peppermint essential oil can be used. In this case, tight wrapping with plastic film promotes the upward flow of lymphatic fluid through capillaries - to the pre-collectors and collecting vessels of the central lymphatic vascular network (which through the thoracic duct joins the subclavian veins).

Compression or bandage lymphatic drainage wrapping, which is called contour wrapping in salons, can be performed with the help of a compression elastic bandage, which is impregnated with a liquid composition. There are ready-to-use bandages for wraps from different manufacturers on sale: they make it easy to do lymphatic drainage wrapping at home.

Using a medical elastic bandage in combination with the use of physiotherapy pneumatic cuffs and variable pneumatic compression devices, compression or bandage wrapping with apparatus lymphatic drainage massage can be performed.

Apparatus mechanotherapy in the form of variable pneumocompression can help to relieve limb edema (due to the return of water into the vascular bed), normalize blood outflow from venous vessels and arterial inflow, improve blood circulation in skin capillaries and blood supply of subcutaneous tissues. This method of physiotherapy can be used for treatment and rehabilitation in chronic venous insufficiency, lymphedema, lymphostasis of the lower limbs, as well as for the prevention of venous thrombosis of the lower limbs and vascular complications in diabetes.

Contraindications to the procedure

Lymphatic drainage wrapping and lymphatic drainage massage are contraindicated when:

• congestive heart failure;
• severe kidney failure;
• hyperthyroidism;
• lower extremity varicose veins;
• skin lesions and dermatologic diseases;
• enlarged regional lymph nodes;
• Enlargement of lymph vessels (lymphangiectasia) on the legs;
• pregnancy and lactation.

Consequences after the procedure

This procedure may cause general weakness and a feeling of thirst, as well as skin irritation (under the influence of some ingredients of the compositions applied to the body). If the wrapping is too tight, short-term paresthesia - numbness and pointing in the fingers and toes - may occur.

Care after the procedure

Special care after the procedure is not required, but it is useful to lie quietly for an hour and a half.

Testimonials

No matter how enthusiastic the reviews about this procedure on the Internet, everyone knows that you should not fully trust them. The medical point of view on some exaggerations of the effects of lymphatic drainage wrapping has been outlined above.

Lymph is helped to circulate properly and keep it flowing by muscular movement. So movement is a healthy life.