As already mentioned earlier MLD is a fantastic manual technique that can be used to improve the healing of many conditions.
Along with the conditions that MLD is useful for there is bone fracture.
Said so, in order to understand how MLD can help to speed up the recovery from a bone fracture we have to analyse what’s happening within the body when such trauma happens.
A bone fracture is an injury that can happen at any age, due to an accident or trauma.
The main type of bone fractures are:
- Displaced
- Angulated
- Shortened
- Rotate
Symptoms of bone fracture
- Pain
- Swelling
- Bruising
- Deformity
- Inability to use the limb.
The fracture so can be a crack side to side or in the middle of the bone.
Eventually, the bone can crumble too, or break in multiple areas.
At the worst, the bone can also cut the skin, and come out of the body.
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Depending on where the fracture is, and what type of fracture it is, surgery could be required.
Independently if surgery is required or not, still MLD can help to boost the recovery.
Indeed, when a fracture happens the body recognises a trauma to its system.
As long as the body won’t know exactly what the trauma is, and if the trauma does involve a skin crack or not, to prevent infections and external bacteria or pathogens to enter the body, the vein, capillaries and the lymphatic system around the trauma area get restricted.
As per result, the body does swell.
In fact, this explains why, when oedema happens the body does swell.
It is an automatic body response to prevent further damage to happen.
As the body then, realise what the issue is, slowly does reactivate the lymphatic system, and does fully reopen veins and capillaries, so that the blood can start circulating again freely.
But the time that the body can reduce the swelling by itself, with a lymphatic system that works at regular speed (about 7 to 8 bits per minute) it would take a while to reduce the swelling.
Furthermore, when I bone is broken that body part would have to stay still for a while, weeks or months.
As per result, the blood and lymph flow would be slower than usual.
And here is where MLD comes to be useful.
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As MLD therapists indeed, we would check that there is no acute infection in the area where we want to apply MLD.
If that’s the case, then, we can start our work.
By boosting the lymphatic system, up to 3 to 4 times its normal ratio, we can quickly reduce the swelling.
And what about if the area affected is covered with a plaster cast?
Well, let’s not forget that the lymphatic system works as a vacuum and the area of loads is below the clavicle.
So, stimulating the Lymphatic system at the top can actually already improve its suction ability till down the feet.
For example, if the fracture is at the foot, initially MLD can be applied at the neck, to open the Lymphatic System duct that reverses in the veins, and secondly can be applied to the abdominal level and down the legs, just before the foot.
Now, that swelling reduction, come’s with many benefits.
For example, in the area treated, there is a transaction of extra oxygen, protein, vitamins, blood and other essential elements useful for the bone to heal.
And occasionally, depending on the type of fracture is not only the bone the one that has to heal.
In fact, along with a bone fracture, the body part fractured stays steel for weeks and months.
That would create a weakness in the muscle that would then require rehabilitation.
As a Remedial Massage therapist, I would have to refer the client to a Physiotherapist for rehabilitation.
Even so, as a Remedial Massage therapist, I can still deliver massage services that can help in restoring muscle functionality.
In conclusion, MLD can help with:
- reducing the swelling along a bone fracture;
- help in speeding up the recovery of the skin damaged by the fracture and or by the operation;
- Speeding up the healing of muscles and soft tissue around the fracture;
Ultimately, by increasing relaxation, MLD is also useful to keep the humour of the person at ease, as often happens that after a trauma such as a bone fracture, the person can feel anxious and demoralised due to poor mobility and difficulties in moving.