Boost Your Immune System After Surgery
The immune system is our body’s natural way of fighting off illness and healing after injury.
Even when medically necessary, major surgery puts significant stress on the body. One unfortunate result of that stress is the suppression of the immune system. And this, in turn, can undermine the body’s ability to heal quickly after surgery.
Moreover, a weakened immune system can leave you susceptible to infection, particularly at the site of your surgical wound but also in the sinuses, nose and mouth, skin, and urinary tract. You may also be less able to fight off illnesses such as a cold, the flu, or pneumonia. And illness and infection can seriously hinder post-operative healing.
So before and after surgery, taking steps to strengthen the immune system can play an important role in helping your body recover as quickly as possible.
Manual lymphatic drainage massage is a great way to boost your body’s natural immune system after a surgical procedure.
This gentle form of body work has been shown to strengthen the immune system, and thereby aid the healing process, by reducing inflammation and promoting healthy circulation of oxygen to the healing tissues.
Read on to learn more about manual lymphatic drainage (MLD), the lymph system, and the role that MLD can play in boosting your immune system to help you heal from surgery.
The Lymph System and the Immune System
The lymph system plays a critical role in the immune system, which is, as noted above, the body’s natural self-defense and self-healing mechanism.
The lymph system is a complex network of vessels, nodes, ducts, and organs. Lymph, a fluid that contains both infection-fighting white blood cells and flushes away toxins and damaged cells, moves throughout the body via these vessels. Lymph nodes help make white blood cells and filter out toxins, bacteria, viruses, and damaged cells from the lymph.
However, the lymph system does not have a specific mechanism, like the heart, to keep the lymph moving freely and smoothly around the body. It relies on your muscles to keep you moving, and that movement keeps your lymph flowing.
Remaining stationary and immobile after surgery can prevent the lymph system from functioning properly. Too much lymph can build up near the surgery, causing harmful swelling, and the body becomes unable to properly flush out toxins and damaged cells. This can impede your body’s ability to fight infection and properly develop healthy tissue.
How Manual Lymphatic Drainage Massage Promotes Healing After Surgery
Manual Lymphatic Drainage, also called MLD, can play a critical role in your recovery after surgery by keeping your lymph system healthy and your immune system strong. This helps your body fight infection and can even reduce your healing time.
MLD is a very gentle form of body work designed to work as an external pump that helps lymph flow freely throughout the body.
MLD involves gentle, rhythmic movements, usually starting at the feet. Like a deep tissue massage, MLD can invoke feelings of deep relaxation (which can also help you heal) but it is a very light movement. Your licensed massage therapist will not use any oils during your treatment, because MLD involves gentle stretching of the skin, not the underlying muscles.
If you have undergone surgery, or are planning a surgical procedure, one of the best things you can do to recover is to keep your immune system as strong as possible. MLD can play an important role in boosting your immune system and helping your body heal. Talk to your surgeon about whether MLD massage with a licensed massage therapist should be part of your recovery.
Contact Our Mobile Massage Clinic | The Villages, Florida
In Home or In Office Massages by Jacqueline in the Central Florida area. Certified for many different massages and treatments. Specializing in Manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) post surgery recovery massage.
To schedule an appointment with Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Advanced Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapist, Jacqueline Bosco CMLDT, Oncology, please call (813) 298-5603. We believe nothing is more important than human touch.
Providing massage services to patients in The Villages, Florida, Sumter County, Leesburg, Eustis, Mount Dora, Tavares, Lady Lake, Fruitland Park, Wildwood, Bushnell and surrounding areas.