REAL Exclusive Magazine Kimberly Burns, OTR/L, CLT - Perspectives - REAL Health

Holiday Detox: Use Your Lymphatic System For Better Health

By Kimberly Burns, OTR/L, CLT

Starting a new year usually means starting a diet or exercise routine. Choosing which route to take or what activities are going to be right for you can be daunting. With so many fad diets and exercise routines out there, why not try a new routine of influencing your body though its immune system. The lymphatic system is a crucial component in health and wellness It is involved in all aspects of your body’s inner workings and carries out your body’s immune responses through channels that are similar to the circulatory system. The lymphatic system works along with the circulatory system to clean up the waste materials from your body that your blood vessels could not accommodate for. It is also able to absorb larger materials than the blood vessels are able. Attending to your lymphatic system can assist in reducing pain, managing swelling, weight loss, and will help you to restore balance and equilibrium to your body.

Learning to live with a lymphatic influence is easy and can be built into your already daily routines. Let’s take a look at a few key points of this great system.

The Lymphatic system is an open system meaning it can collect and release fluids. This allows for your immune system to deliver pathogen fighting cells and to remove waste products.

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What does this mean for your lymphatic techniques? It means there is a system in our body that can be influenced to remove toxins and assist in living a healthy existence. Education is key. By learning about the lymphatic vessels, its route to the circulatory system and alternate pathways, you will see how easily you can adjust how you put on lotions, how you dry yourself off and how to modify many other self-care techniques to improve your immune fighting power! Schedule some time for an educational session about your specific circumstances.

There is no pump for your lymphatic system to move fluid such as the heart does for the circulatory system. For this system to assist in its fluid returning to the heart, it works on pressures of the environment and within your body. The muscles of the body are this systems biggest support. The diaphragm acts as the pump utilizing the suction effect from the diaphragm pulling downwards then returning back to its original position. The muscles of your body press the lymphatic vessels with the help of the skin and assist in moving lymphatic fluid upwards.

Lymphatic techniques with this in mind include exercises such as abdominal breathing, pilates, yoga and more. Elevation is a great assist for the lymphatic system which makes exercises that are done laying are perfect! Try lying on the bed with your legs in the air and draw letters, shapes or just point and flex your feet. So many great exercises that you can do makes it hard to list them all. The benefits of having your own healthcare consultant is that they are knowledgeable in a variety of medical fields and can create an exercise plan that’s just right for you!

Gravity plays a large part in our body’s ability to move fluids. What goes down doesn’t necessarily have to go back up. It can get stuck in the tissues further blocking the ability of fluid movement. Our lymphatic system works on pressures, and because of that we can influence how gravity will take its effect on use.

Your lymphatic technique includes the use of manual lymph drainage and compression garments. We have the ability to perform simple hand techniques on ourselves and/or wear specialty garments specifically meant to address our lymphatic system. Call today for a hands on learning session for performing this great stimulating technique to remove toxins. Compression stockings or sleeves are a great non medication alternative to relieving pain and works to reduce with swelling, wounds and varicose veins. Ask for a custom Juzo garment fitting!

Last but not least, Be good to your belly. There are many foods that produce toxic waste and put a strain on the lymphatic system. Some of these include refined grains, processed foods, candy, baked goods and many more. Too much sodium – that’s a no-no!

Lymphatic technique: Eating raw foods provide important enzymes which break down toxins and promote removal of harmful substances. Look for foods that are anti-inflammatory and full of antioxidants. Adding probiotics to your diet can replace or add to the current population of good bacteria that is normally present in the gastrointestinal tract. By adding probiotics to your diet, you can help tip the scale in favor of good bacteria over bad bacteria limiting infections and other problems. And of course, drink more water! Your lymph vessels are full of protein and protein loves water. Keeping hydrated will help your lymphatic system to move freely limiting stagnant fluid and maintaining good circulation.

Take care of your body! Where else are you going to live?!

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^[4]Kimberly Burns, OTR/L, CLT, is an Occupational Therapist with over 14 years’ experience working with clients ranging from infants to the elderly. She has always had passion for wellness and what she could do at home for herself to manage pain and delay disease processes. Her recent certification in Lymphedema Therapy has provided her further incentive to focus her business around preventing disease and halting its progression. Kimberly Burns, OTR/L, CLT – (215) 499.0444 – Kim.Burns@SensoryIntuition.com ^[5] – www.SensoryIntuition.com ^[6].

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