Kathy’s Window: Dry brushing and lymphatic massage – how it helped me
Into trying new self-care routines? Why not try dry brushing?
An over-50 Generation Xer sees life through a new lens: Kathy’s Window is where Kathy shares her thoughts on the world through a new lens. From growing up in the 70s and 80s to having three Generation-Z kids, and going through certain experiences in her life, she now sees the world in a different way. Ideas that were considered the norm in the 70s, 80s and 90s are now no longer socially relevant or acceptable. Kathy explores the new ideas through the lens of someone who has been on both sides of the ‘glass’.
THE last few weeks have been tough! I am thankfully emerging out of a difficult time healthwise. I caught a nasty flu bug a few weeks ago that I couldn’t seem to shake. And I lost my voice in the process. I’m so grateful that my voice is now finally coming back albeit a little croaky. While I was at home with some leave, I discovered the idea of lymphatic self-massage and then subsequently, dry brushing. I had heard of lymphatic massage and dry brushing before but actually thought it was weird, well, especially dry brushing. I think my reason for feeling that way was because of watching the movie, Tully, starring Charlize Theron, who as mother Marlo, dry brushes her son every day. The whole movie was weird – Marlo had some mental health problems – and the way it was portrayed was strange, but now I understand it. She dry brushed him to help him with sensory issues – not what I am talking about here, but it did help him.
When our immune system is working hard to heal us when we are sick, it can make the lymphatic system a little clogged up – hence why we often have sore and swollen glands in our necks and armpits. The lymphatic system is really important and doesn’t seem to get the acknowledgement that it deserves in general self-care and knowledge about personal health. The lymphatic fluid in our lymphatic system transports necessary substances throughout the body and works to eliminate waste and toxins. The system delivers white blood cells to where they are needed to fight against viruses and bacteria. The lymphatic system is comprised of the lymph nodes, the lymphatic vessels, the spleen, the appendix, the tonsils, the thymus gland and red bone marrow. We can stimulate our lymphatic system to improve the flow of fluid, thereby helping our overall health.
I started off trying out a couple of lymphatic self-massages by following a YouTube video by Kelly of Cancer Rehab PT. She is a physical therapist from the US who specialises in helping people who have cancer and lymphedema. But some of her videos are just for overall lymphatic health. When a person has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment, they especially need to work on stimulating their lymphatic system so it can flow easily to eliminate all the toxins that come from the body and chemo drugs fighting the illness. Also, sometimes, those who have surgery, for example with breast cancer, have some of their lymph nodes removed, so a massage can help with getting the body to carry the lymph fluid to the nodes that are working okay.
The self-massages were very soothing, and I felt a bit better after them. Whether that was a placebo effect or not, it doesn’t matter as the placebo effect can also help with healing. And any type of massage is soothing. I wanted to try dry brushing, too, but it took me a while to find an affordable and soft enough brush. I eventually found a bath brush at Dischem with soft bristles and a longish handle to get to my back. You don’t want to use something too hard that will hurt your skin. The benefit of dry brushing is that it also exfoliates your skin. You can shower after a lymphatic massage or dry-brushing session to wash off the dead skin cells and then apply a moisturiser to soothe your skin afterwards.
A simple lymphatic massage entails rubbing your clean, open palm in gentle circles on certain spots of your skin where the lymph nodes are situated and also running your palms along the paths of certain vessels leading to the lymph nodes, for example, along the side of the neck or the jawline. Dry brushing entails softly brushing along certain parts of your body to stimulate the flow of lymph fluid to the nodes, for example, along the back calf towards under the knee.
I recommend you watch Kelly’s videos to get an idea as she explains it really well. You can find her full lymphatic massage here: https://youtu.be/PYdSY2uezWk and her full dry-brushing massage here: https://youtu.be/-pygu7OlOj0
Other ways you can stimulate your lymphatic system are by exercising, jumping on a trampoline or rebounder (if that works for you), drinking plenty of water and eating leafy greens. Taking deep diaphragmatic breaths also stimulates the lymphatic system in your abdomen and just gets everything flowing well. And if you are able to, treat yourself to a professional lymphatic massage.
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