Regular Massage and Drinking More Water Will Give Simple Relief from Edema.

Water has so many health benefits including relief from extensive edema and some types of back pain!

It sounds so basic and simple, yet so few people actually drink enough water... and no, soda, coffee, juice and teas don't count!

Massage is very helpful in reducing extensive edema in the legs. Your legs are generally elevated during this massage.  Massage for this issue consists of rubbing only in the direction toward your heart while starting at the toes and pushing gently, but firmly up the leg all the way into the groin. This is done for 15 to 20 minutes on each leg.

Some Edema may be caused by very serious issues.  For this reason this massage may require a doctor's approval prior to a massage session. 

So How Much Water is Enough?

Most experts recommend 8, eight ounce glasses throughout the day...but I say shoot for that at a minimum... try for more.   The key is to drink water throughout the day and not just at meals or at a particular time.

Does your skin feel dry to the touch? As a massage therapist I can often tell a client's hydration level by just touching their skin.  Almost immediately after applying lotions does your skin become dry again? It may not be your skin responding to the lotion but rather its inability to soften because of hydration levels.

When water is not available to get into the cells freely, it is filtered from the outside salty ocean and injected into the cells that are being overworked despite their water shortage. The design of our bodies is such that the extent of the ocean of water outside the cells is expanded to have the extra water available for filtration and emergency injection into vital cells. The brain commands an increase in salt and water retention by the kidneys. This directive of the brain is why we get edema when we don’t drink enough water.

When water shortage in the body reaches a more critical level and delivery of water by its injection into the cells becomes the main route of supply to more and more cells, an associated rise in injection pressure becomes necessary. The significant rise in pressure needed to inject water into the cells becomes measurable and is labeled hypertension.

Initially, the process of water filtration and its delivery into the cells is more efficient at night when the body is horizontal. The collected water, which settles mostly in the legs during the day, does not have to fight the force of gravity to get into the blood circulation when the body is horizontal. If reliance on this process of emergency hydration of some cells continues for long, however, the lungs begin to get waterlogged and breathing becomes difficult. The person needs more pillows to sit upright to sleep.

This condition is called cardiac asthma and is the consequence of dehydration. However, in this condition you must not overload the system by drinking too much water at the beginning. Increases in water intake must be slow and spaced out – until urine production begins to increase at the same rate that you drink water.

When we drink enough water to pass clear urine, we also pass out a lot of the salt that was held back. This is how we can get rid of edema fluid from the body; by drinking more water. Not diuretics but more water! Water is the best natural diuretic that exists.

In a person who has extensive edema and whose heart sometimes experiences irregular or very rapid beats with little effort, the increase in water intake should be gradual and spaced out, but water should not be withheld from the body. Salt intake should be limited for two or three days because the body is still in an overdrive mode to retain it. Once the edema has cleared up, salt should not be withheld from the body.

"Salt Intake is Vital"   CureZone.com

 Relief for Edema

 

Elevation and other exercises using special equipment are recommended to promote lymph drainage. However, it is best for clients with lymphedema to follow individualized exercise programs developed by physical therapists or their doctors.

Manual Lymphatic Drainage is a specialized massage technique originally developed by Emil Vodder, a Danish massage practitioner and doctor of philosophy.  

The techniques help clear edema by facilitating lymph flow through collaterals across watersheds and collecting ducts. Since pressure is very low in lymph vessels, lymph drainage techniques resort to very gentle stretches of the skin, superficial fascia, and the lymphatic vessels in the direction of lymph flow, followed by gentle release of the stretch. Superficial effleurage and superficial lymph drainage techniques are used to remove fluid and assist further drainage, and kneading strokes may be used to soften the hardened tissue.

See ABMP article: Edema and Lymphedema: Are TheyDifferent?  By Kalyani Premkumar  

Palm Springs Massage Therapy Special  see: website for details

Massage is very helpful in reducing extensive edema in the legs. Your legs are generally elevated during this massage.  Massage for this issue consists of rubbing only in the direction toward your heart while starting at the toes and pushing gently, but firmly up the leg all the way into the groin. This is done for 15 to 20 minutes on each leg.  

Some Edema may be caused by very serious issues.  For this reason this massage may require a doctor's approval prior to a massage session

Limited time special offer: FOUR -30 minute specialized sessions for only $120. Plan all 4 sessions at your own convenience. You may choose to pay half of the fee and spread the remaining balance over the remaining sessions. Purchase individual sessions for $45 for 30 minutes. Combine this massage with my "Feel Good"massage for even further benefit.