Friday was my first of three intense days studying the body’s natural defense mechanism; inflammation which primarily involves the lymphatic system of the body. The lymphatic system
consists of organs, ducts, vessels and nodes. It transports clear fluid which distributes immune cells called lymphocytes, among other factors, throughout the body. These cells protect the body against the bad guys (antigens….viruses, bacteria) that attack the body. The lymph system works to carry waste and proteins away from the muscles that the blood can’t handle. The lymph system is paramount with injury rehabilitation.
For the first 4 hours we built the lymphatic system in clay on these little manikens - it’s called Anatomiken which was a core piece of my 1000-hr CMT education. That is a huge reason why I understand the musculature of the body so well. It is a highly effective way to learn structures in the body. Even after just one class I feel like I understand the lymph system at a much deeper level, this will highly beneficial to my clients with any stage of injury: acute through chronic.
The second part of the day was bodywork - we each had an hour session consisting of full body lymphatic drainage. Very effective work. I negatively stressed my adductors on Thursday night running at the stroke and stride. To a point where I thought, ‘oh man, I may have to take a few days off to get these muscles repaired’. It was not the ‘good hurt’, it was not a general soreness it was a low grade re-injury of an area that is still healing from my bike crash a month ago.
After my lymphatic drainage, my leg felt immediately better. I left school at 5:30 and headed over for a 6pm massage appointment. I thought, well I guess I’ll see what it feels like to have 2 hours of massage (like I didn’t know already). It felt great, I was able to focus on my adductors and neck for the entire session. Last night, I slept sound with no pain, the night before and every minute prior to getting worked on yesterday I was in pain. It hurt to rotate my right femur, a pain the woke me several times on Thursday night. Now it’s Saturday morning and I’m 100%, heading out for a run before class. A run that would have been questionable without the bodywork I received yesterday.
The power of massage is, just that, powerful. But with everything, consistency is key. For my body, my muscles are so accustomed to receiving massage that they start to release immediately and I feel that the effects I experience are longer and deeper then someone who receives once a month. Even though that’s a great maintenance plan, sometimes, especially in times of injury you must be proactive about health. You can’t get receive bodywork once every few months and expect that one session is going to take your tension away, it’s just like training, you must build up gradually and consistently.
Your body is going to do the best job it can but sometimes you need to guide it or it’s healing will get out of control and counteract it’s own goal. That’s what disease and dysfunction of the body is all about. So take care of yourselves, don’t assume it’s going to work itself out. Assist your body in showing the path to health.
And my personal opinion is, don’t overload your body with horrible crap like ibuprofen, that only impedes the body’s natural ability to heal. I hate that stuff, I absolutely loathe it. It’s widely recommended and accepted in our society….I think its because people don’t fully understand the havoc it can wreak on your body. Alternatives like Arnica will reduce your pain and encourage the healing process. The more holisitic methods you turn to the stronger your body will be in it’s repair of injury and sickness. Work with your body not against it.