Circulation

When we talk about circulation, we are generally talking about blood vessels: the circulatory system. But an important element of the circulatory system itself is the lymphatic system. This is the system responsible for raised “glands” when you’re ill, and often areas of swelling.

What is the Lymphatic System?

When blood reaches a cell, it leaves some of its cargo there, such as oxygen. It also picks up some waste products, like carbon dioxide. But this isn’t a swap that can just happen in one vessel. Arteries supply the nutrition to the cells, and veins take it away. When the blood transitions from artery to vein, it transitions through the lymphatic system.

Lymph is the fluid part of blood that squeezes out of the cell with its waste products. It makes its way to the nearest lymph duct. Smaller ducts lead to larger ones, eventually reaching the end of the system near the collar bone. Here the lymph mixes into a vein and travels back to the heart and lungs to pick up more oxygen. Lymph nodes (or “glands”) are found all over the lymphatic system. Their job is to clean the fluid and fight infection, which explains why they become larger and more solid when you’re ill.

Circulation Issues

Problems with Lymph

When the lymph system is impeded, fluid can collect in the affected area of the body. One clear example is lymphoedema after lymphadenectomy. Lymph nodes are removed in some types of surgery for things like cancer, aiming to prevent the spread of the disease. Lymphadenectomy for breast cancer might involve removing the nodes around the arm pit, reducing the ability of the lymphatic system to clear lymph from that arm. This can cause significant swelling from the shoulder into the hand.

Other Causes of Swelling

Localised areas of swelling can also occur after an injury, such as a sprained ankle. The body wants to support the affected area with nutrients and infection-fighting cells, so it sends more blood to the injury. This is part of the inflammatory response, and causes heat, redness, and swelling. The cells take in more products from the blood, and therefore create more lymph. This whole process can take a few days to pass, which means swelling can last a while. For an injury like this, you might be inclined to put ice on the area to reduce the inflammation. This can be useful to take the edge off, but the inflammation is there to do good. For acute injuries like this, some swelling is beneficial.

Chronic inflammation is less useful. Conditions like osteoarthritis may be accompanied by persistent inflammation. When an area is subject to prolonged swelling like this, it can actually make the state of the tissues worse. This can be quite apparent with arthritic knees. Swelling might not be very uncomfortable in itself, but its presence can speed up the progression of arthritis. This is because of the higher levels of waste products in the area than usual.

Osteopathy for Circulation

If you have been diagnosed with lymphoedema, you should have also been given specific exercises. You may also have been given an elastic support to compress the area and limit the amount of lymph that can build up. You may find that you benefit from additional work to the affected area- your osteopath can help you here. This can be particularly useful if you struggle to perform the exercises effectively on your own.

After an injury, your osteopath can help to reduce swelling. Alongside treatment for the injury itself, we can work around the area to encourage the excess fluid back into circulation. This might be through sweeping movements to the skin or larger movements through nearby muscles and joints. For example, “pumping” the calf muscle pushes fluid in the leg back up towards the heart. We can utilise this in treatment and in exercise for the calf and other areas of the body.

For chronic inflammation in a joint as mentioned above, osteopathy can be really useful. During treatment sessions we can encourage the fluid to move on with gentle hands on techniques. For some areas, these can be modified for you to continue at home on a daily basis. The swelling will keep returning, but the periods of relief after treatment or exercises will give the body a better opportunities to heal. Read more about osteopathy for arthritis here.

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