If you're like most people, your knee surgery has been a long time coming. You've tried everything else: cortisone shots, physical therapy, ice and heat, and rest; maybe even years of downtime. Finally, you want your life back! The pain and mobility issues get to be too much so you start searching for the best orthopedic surgeon to do the job. 

After interviewing your doctor, there's one more question you need to ask him or her before the surgery...

"When's the soonest you'll clear me for a lymphatic massage after my surgery?"

You'll want to book a few massages as soon as possible after your surgery for a few very good reasons, which I'm sharing with you now.

First, lymphatic massage reduces swelling and inflammation.

Surgery (any kind of surgery) often leads to fluid retention. All those delicate lymphatic vessels are sliced and lymphatic pathways are disrupted as your body undergoes the surgeon's work. Lymph nodes are prominent around joints, and the knee especially so. Your bod...

I'm sure you don't lose sleep over the composition of lymph... but I do! 

Lymph is always changing... depending on the environment and the situation.

For example, after the Covid vaccine rollouts, I was obsessed with the idea that I could potentially be fast-moving that stuff through the body via the lymph system by doing a lymphatic massage. Without adequate long-term testing, I had no idea what that was doing to my clients. On the side of caution, I advised that if you recently had the vaccine, simply wait for a couple of weeks (just a guess) before having a manual lymphatic drainage massage. Incidentally, now that we know the mRNA does NOT stay in the arm like we were told, I can only cross my fingers that this was a good call. (Too much finger-crossing these past two years, IMO).

I also received requests for lymphatic drainage to help with the harmful effects of the Covid vaccines. Could lymphatic massage help process whatever it was that was causing pain and inflammation in peo...

As I was massaging a client recently, she referred to her abdomen as "The Cauldron of Lymph Nodes." 

Kudos to her for being so in touch with her body, but...

Are you picturing an iron pot over a fire, in which green, steaming soup boils with snakes and floating eyeballs? I can't say I blame you... I did, too! 

The truth is, your guts are teeming with lymph nodes doing hard work. Picture a smattering of organized, beautiful nodules filtering gunk like an elite, well-trained army of goodness and efficiency. That's exactly what it is!

You may have heard that your gut is your second brain. It's the main host to your microbiome and a key player in your overall health. It's also crucial for regulating inflammation and immunity.

Understandably, when your tummy feels gross, it's pretty hard to ignore.

It's not uncommon to sometimes resent your tummy's sluggish turmoil –– or experience a degree of self-loathing for eating those tacos so late the night before.

I get it! Call this too muc...

You just dropped an iron on your big toe.

After crumpling to your knees and spewing a curse word or two, you know what’s going to happen. Your toe will turn bright red, it’ll get very hot to the touch, it will be sore and puffy. You may not be able to move it for a while. These are all signs of inflammation, your body’s natural defenses coming to the rescue.

What you can’t see is the dilation of the blood vessels, which allow more blood to reach the tissue. This blood contains a gang of white blood cells rushing into the wounded tissue, ready to fight a battle against infection. Inflammatory mediators trigger immune system cells to pass out of the small blood vessels to prevent further tissue damage. Hormonal signals irritate nerves and cause pain. Inflammation, from the Latin “inflammare”( to burn), sounds an alarm to your entire body. If something hurts, you’re more likely to notice and protect that body part. 

Inflammation also involves interstitial fluid, which pools into the...