TMJ or Temporomandibular joint is bilaterally located on the side of the human head. TMJ and Movement Upper Compartment Protrusion Retrusion Lower Compartment Lower the Jaw Raise the Jaw Lateral Deviation Said so: the opening is the combination of Protrusion plus Lowering the Jaw closing the mouth is Retrusion plus Raising the Jaw. TMJ and Pain When TMJ is in pain, we can find it hard to talk, eat and sometimes even rest, as the pain can be pretty strong. Moving forward, not everyone knows that deep under TMJ we have what we call Parotid Gland. The Parotid Gland is a salivary gland, and if gets infected, it can swallow up and be quite painful. What can happen at the Parotid Gland is an accumulation of calcium in its duct, and saliva can’t be expelled. Even though viruses or bacteria can also be responsible for TMJ infection. What also most people are not aware of is that in the Parotid Gland, there are lymph nodes. TMJ and MLD. The fact that the gland can be swollen is an indication that fluid is stuck in it. MLD, thanks to the boosting of the lymphatic system, which is responsible for reducing swelling in the body, can be the perfect technique to reduce the swelling and so restore the functionality of TMJ. If this post talks to you, book your next massage session by clicking here. The Parotid Gland lymph nodes unload their Lymph Obligatory Load into the cervical nodes. So as per usual, at the start of the MLD treatment, we will work along the upper neck, medial neck and then the terminal (just between the clavicle and the upper trap). In addition, what makes a difference with MLD is that is a pain-free technique. That would allow the client suffering from TMJ pain to receive a treatment that would not aggravate the pain feeling and would end up giving a deep relaxation too. Other work techniques can be used, such as Myotherapy and Remedial Massage trigger point, or dry needling for Myotherapy treatment. The Remedial Massage TMJ treatment is a valuable technique but would not resolve the problem at the root cause. In conclusion, MLD is probably the best manual, not invasive treatment that can be done for TMJ. Talk to your dentist about this option, and if they are not aware of what MLD is, don’t be surprised, it is, yes an excellent technique, but it is still not well known by many practitioners, dentist included.
Tag Archives: manual lymphatic drainage
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Feb
Massage appointments, how often? How often should I come for a massage appointment? Often I got asked this question, and the answer is not as simple as. A massage, that is Remedial Massage, Thai Massage or MLD treatment, has the aim to heal a condition or alleviate the pain. Well, at least that’s the main aim of those techniques. Said so, the second, but not less important task for a massage is to induce relaxation. Therefore, if you are aiming to get some relaxation, I would suggest considering getting a massage appointment regularly. Like, every 2 weeks, every month or every 2 months. Of course, depends mostly on finance. So, a regular massage appointment, allows the body and mind to aim for something positive. It is like a reward. On the other hand, if the message is not limited to relaxation time, then, you may need it more often. That’s the case when the client comes to the appointment that is in pain (99% of the time). If this post is talking to you, book your next massage session by clicking here. The fact that you are in pain can be a sign that the body issue has been there for a while. Indeed with a massage, we can alleviate the pain, but to actually fix the issue (if it’s fixable by the way) or to make the best out of what the condition is, we need to do more than one session. In fact, one session may release the pain for a couple of days, but then, as you go back to your daily routine, the pain would come back. Therefore, a series of close massage appointments, in a short time can actually help for the best. Another important aspect of pain management is exercise. Corrective exercises are a key role in expanding the time between one session and the next one. If you actually do the exercises, you can by yourself improve your body conditions, reducing the risk of injury and pain. In conclusion, the frequency for which you should attend a massage appointment is based on your needing. For a Remedial massage or a Thai Massage, you may wanna initially see the therapist once a week for the first 3 to 4 weeks. With MLD is different. With MLD the need for seeing a therapist can be more frequent. Obviously depending on the condition that has to be treated.
Jan
Massage and music at Melbourne Massage and Treatment Studio. Music is such an important part of receiving and giving a massage. As our body gets stimulated from the touch of the practitioner, music can tune in with the healing touch and create a different atmosphere. Said so, I never found it too hard to choose what music to play. Lately, I did decide to step away from platforms such as Spotify or Youtube. Why? Well, starting with YouTube, there is way too much publicity, and I don’t really use it as much that I would need an account for it. In regards to Spotify, I just can’t stand their politics. The artists get paid nothing for each time we listen to their music, and I found it really unfair. So, more recently, I discover a really nice French Radio called FIP. FIP stands for France Inter Paris. The concept behind FIP has scarcely changed since its founding: commercial-free music interrupted only by occasional announcements about forthcoming cultural events. Why did I choose FIP? If this post is talking to you, book your next massage session by clicking here. I choose Fip as it has a broad range of music styles and is commercial-free The last thing you want to hear during a massage is publicity, isn’t it? Furthermore, I use it all day long in the house, it has a really massive range of music choices. During the treatments, I mostly play Jazz music as is the one that best suits the environment. In regards to MLD, though, I don’t play music during those sessions. Why? Well, MLD is a light touch treatment that doesn’t have to follow a bit. In fact, having music, for us MLD therapists can be distractive. Along with the MLD treatment, I have to be so focused that I can’t get distracted by the music’s rhythm. That would change the rhythmic of my touch and massage speed, interrupting the healing purpose of MLD. In conclusion, I never received a complaint about the Music choice, so I guess your customers appreciate the choice and respect the idea that under pay an artist, is just not fair.
Jan
MLD and Pain. As previously mentioned, MLD is a massage technique pain-free. This is one of the reasons that makes it so special. It doesn’t matter where the technique is applied, the touch has to be so light, that the patient doesn’t have to feel any pain. And believe it or not, MLD can be applied right after surgery, when you get sunburn or right after physical trauma. Indeed, what MLD does is prevent the body to feel the pain. So, in order to explain this, I may use the mosquito bite example. When a mosquito bites us, after several minutes we start to feel itchy. In fact, the first auto-reaction is to start stretching the body. What does the scratching do? Firstly, by scratching, we stimulate the mechanoreceptors of the skin. The mechanoreceptors, send a signal to the spine (to CNS) that inhibit the pain receptors, which are constantly stimulated from the mosquito bite. Indeed, the pain receptor can be stimulated once and keep reacting, whereas the touch receptors, in order to be activated need constant stimulation. Now, in MLD that’s what we do, we constantly and gently stimulate the mechanoreceptors. If this post is talking to you, and you are in need of a massage, book your next session by clicking here. In fact, we keep inhibiting the pain receptors, reducing the pain signal frequency. Secondly, and no less important, by stimulating the lymphatic system activity, we reduce the amount of nociceptors. Per nociceptor, we refer to the actual sensory neuron that transports the pain signal to the spine and brain. Furthermore, by reducing the pain, the client can start experiencing a high state of relaxation. Indeed a high state of relaxation is another efficient way to deal with pain and eventually pour mobility, due to the injury the client is dealing with. In conclusion, this is how MLD can reduce the pain in an injured area.
Dec
Manual Lymphatic Drainage if used along the correct type of condition, is a safe and well utile manual therapy. In the previous two blogs (Link 1, Link 2) I described how the Lymphatic System works and its relation to MLD. What body find benefit from Manual Lymphatic Drainage? As previously mentioned, the lymphatic system is so important to keep the homoeostasis of the body. Indeed, along with the following conditions, homoeostasis is compromised: Skin Burn Chronic Inflammation (plantar fascitis, tendinitis…) Lymphodema Oedema Scar reduction and prevention Pre and post-operation body rehabilitation Improving the bell function Head-each Skin puffiness and or Acne and more… How can Manual Lymphatic Drainage help with these conditions? Firstly, what all those conditions have in common, is that they are related to how the Lymphatic System deal with them. So again, the healthier and more vital is the lymphatic system, the better the body’s homoeostasis. If we look into oedema due to a hammered hand, we need a responsive and well-functioning lymphatic system to absorb that swelling. The stronger the lymphatic system, the quicker the healing process will be. Even a scar from a post-operation could heal faster if the lymphatic system gets adequately stimulated. More nutrients and less dangerous components will float around the wound if the lymphatic system works stronger. Secondly, some of these conditions are so painful that a massage is not applicable. As we applied MLD, we would not increase the pain, thanks to the light touch. If this post is talking to you, and you need a massage, book your next session by clicking here. Why should MLD not be painful? When we apply the different strokes by dragging the skin gently around, we will stimulate the lymph vessels to collect the obligatory lymph load. Still, we will not generate pain by stimulating pain receptors. Furthermore, the repetitive mechanical stimulation would activate what in science is called the gate theory. The gate theory looks into the interneurons’ inhibitory response, which reduces the pain signal reaching the brain, consequently decreasing the pain response. MLD and coontroindications. MLD can’t be applied to Acute infection, Untreated Cancers, Untreated Thrombus, Congestive heart failure, or intoxicated persons. Minor contraindications include Hypertension/Diabetes n1, Autoimmune disease, Asthma, Hypo/Hyperthyroidism, pregnancy, and a history of tuberculosis. In conclusion, I am honoured to have the knowledge and the skill to use and apply such a technique. Even though, for now, I can’t yet treat people with Lymphodema and or clients who had lymph nodes removed or are looking for a post-cancer treatment. What I got to offer to this patient, anyway, is a reference for other practitioners. So if this is you, please get in touch with me, and I can refer you to your nearest practitioner.
Dec
A Watershed is an imaginary line that divides the body and the Lymphatic System into quadrants. Each quadrant has its lymphatic liquid collection canal, and the lower quadrant, as per the two legs, sends the liquid to the cisterna kili, a gland that sits deep behind the belly button that is connected to the upper left duct within the upper left quadrant. What the watershed division looks like? The main watersheds are four. A vertical one divides the body into two equal vertical halves. The other three lines are horizontal and parallel to each other. The top runs along the clavicle, the second runs through the belly button, and the third and last runs on top of the iliac crest. In doing so, we have six quadrants, two uppers, two medial and two lower. The importance of watersheds. As we dig more and more within the functionality of the Lymphatic System and MLD as a Lymphatic Drainage technique, we can see that in these specific quadrants, there are bundles of Lymph nodes that get loaded from the lymph vessels connected to it. So the watershed division allows having the liquid directed to a specific body area where lymph nodes are found. Indeed, the lymph nodes are the ones that do the cleanup of the lymph liquid, also called obligatory lymph load. When we do a treatment, we have to make sure where we direct the liquid because we want to ensure that the lymph liquid gets sent to the lymph nodes, to be processed and then transferred to the lymph/vein duct at the high of the cervical area. If this post is talking to you, and you need an MLD treatment, book your next session by clicking here. The upper watershed and the duct. After the obligatory lymph load reaches the upper watershed (the one running along the clavicle), it gets passed to the venous system. This happens after the obligatory lymph load travels with the trunk collector and passes through the duct. The duct is the last portion of the lymph trunk that connects to the venous system. In conclusion, we want to specify that the lower quadrants (R leg and L leg) and the upper L quadrant drain in the L thoracic duct within the L subclavian vein. Where the R upper quadrant does drain in the R duct connected to the R subclavian vein. Below here, is a list of blog posts that talk about conditions where MLD can be beneficial: Bone fracture Sunburn Preeclampsia TMJ Chronic Pain Fibromyalgia
Nov
MLD stands for Manual Lymphatic Drainage. As per a deep tissue massage, MLD treatment works on the lymphatic system and not the musculoskeletal system. This technique aims to boost the capacity and ability of the lymphatic system. Manual Lymphatic Drainage history. MLD is a technique implemented by Dr Vodder and his wife, Estrid Vodder, with the help of many other scientists and researchers. Dr Vodder can be described as a visionary of the lymphatic system role. He dedicates his life to the realisation of this technique. Dr Vodder and his wife formulated a series of hypotheses on how the lymphatic system works, and how it is essential to speed up recovery from diverse conditions. All their hypothesis, along the 20th century, were then confirmed and transformed in theory thanks to the works of many other scientists. As per result, after their first few years of hypothesis formulation, in the early 20th century, they could start promoting their work and run seminars and classes about MLD all around Europe. Nowadays, is in Austria in the village of Walchsee -Tyrol -Austria resides the Dr Vodder Academy –Lymphedema Clinic Wittlinger. The Austrian clinic was founded in 1971, and since that, the MLD spread all around the world, with courses that are taught in any continent. The Lymphatic System. To understand the importance of this technique, let’s analyse the body’s anatomy and the lymphatic system’s role. Indeed, for doing so, let’s compare the lymphatic system with the blood circulatory system. Firstly, the lymphatic system is an open system of “capillaries” (lymph vessels) and “veins” (pre-collector and collectors). Secondly, It differs from the blood circulatory system as it transports lymph, not blood, and is open and not closed. Thirdly, the lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump, as is the heart for the circulatory system. In fact, the lymphatic system, pushes the lymph around through a mechanism of osmosis pressure (at the lymph vessels system) and throughout an inner system of inner valves. Furthermore, the lymphatic system has filtering stations: lymph nodes. It is here where specific white cells live. Indeed, the role of the white cells is to help fight back infections carried by viruses and bacteria. Said so, the lymphatic system’s primary role is to collect waste. This happens at two different levels. At the superficial level (80%), where the lymph vessels are (lower dermis and the superficial zone of the subcutaneous tissue) and deep level of the body (20% below the deep fascia) return this waste to the blood system will then direct all the waste to the organs that clean the body, such as liver, kidney etc. How the lymphatic system works. So, our body is covered in skin, right? Below the skin, before the fascia and muscle layers, we got lymph vessels (the equivalent of capillary for the blood system). The lymph vessel spread on a vertical level all along the body in different concentrations. As per role, the lymph vessel collects the Lymph-obligatory load, the waste and excess material the body doesn’t need. Lymph-obligatory load is made from water, protein, lipids, exogenous substances, cells etc… The collection of the lymph-obligatory load comes through a suction and osmosis approach. The lymph obligatory load travels down to the pre-collectors from the lymph vessel. Indeed, pre-collectors are slightly more significant than the lymph vessel Furthermore, rather than spread along the undersurface of the skin, they travel deep down and pass the lymph fluid to the collectors. As per result, the collectors that interconnect the lymph nodes transport the lymph-obligatory load to the blood circulatory system. Another specification to look for is that the lymphatic system is divided into superficial and deep. But we will look at this specification in the next blog post, where we will also talk about the watershed and body quadrant. Manual Lymphatic Drainage compared to the massage technique. So, now that we have a better idea of what the lymphatic system is and how it works, we can say that massage techniques such as Myotherapy, Thai Massage, Remedial Massage, or even Relaxation Massage are not the most indicated for helping the lymphatic system. They still would improve its work, but as the lymphatic system sits right below the skin and works by light stimulation, the friction and pressure applied with these techniques would be too strong. Even though no damage occurs to the lymphatic system when significant pressure is applied to it.
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