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...

Today we're diving into a topic that might not always get the spotlight it deserves: the importance of sleep before and after surgery. Let's be real; sleep is often underestimated in the context of surgical procedures, but trust me when I say it plays a crucial role in our journey to recovery. That's yet another one of the ways a lymphatic massage can help... because it helps you sleep!

A lymphatic massage is one of the most relaxing massages you can have. Many of my clients drift in and out of sleep or drop into a deeper subconscious state while having a manual lymphatic drainage massage. In addition, most people report getting a wonderful night of uninterrupted sleep following a lymphatic massage.

One of the reasons is that during the massage, the therapist is manually moving the lymphatic fluid so that it flows much the way it would if you did forty minutes of high-intensity interval training! You are tricking the body into "thinking" it had a hard workout; your fluids are fully f...

After surgery, your body produces a lot of extra fluid. It's your body's beautiful way of saying, "I've got you, sister, and here I am, coming to your rescue." Your body naturally produces extra fluid to cushion the blow after trauma to the body. This is a good thing. Thank you, body!

However, after surgery, whether elective or non-elective, you want to get back to your normal, PRE-surgery state. You want to feel like yourself again. Healthy, vibrant, mobile. You don't want to feel and be hindered by, the firmness and numbness in your belly… behind your knee, under your armpit... nor anywhere else this fluid is pooling to "fight" for you.

Thank you very much, you just want it GONE. 

This is where extra assistance may be necessary to help your body drain all this fluid. This is where the help of a lymphatic drainage specialist can come in handy. I write a lot about this technique elsewhere on this website. It's what I do, what I believe in, and what I enjoy doing.

I've witnessed my ...