Fibromyalgia and Lymph Health
Connecting Fibromyalgia and lymph health was the final piece of the puzzle in my Fibromyalgia cure.
The need for having a healthy lymphatic system is paramount if you are to recover your health from Fibromyalgia.
There is twice as much of lymph flowing through the body than blood.
We are all aware that blood flow to and from the heart is vitally important. Any blockages prevent the flow of blood are likely to be fatal as in a heart attack.
But what if the lymph does not flow freely? Well you won’t instantly die from a heart attack, but your health will decline dramatically.
And I believe that people with Fibromyalgia have very poor and compromised lymphatic systems. This in large part is due to stress. People with Fibromyalgia have an overactive and oversensitive response to stress and are constantly in a fight, flight or freeze state. This impacts overall health and causes problems with sleep. Without good restorative sleep the body cannot function properly. It cannot repair and heal itself.
And I believe the combination of constant stress and lack of restorative sleep causes the lymphatic system to work less effectively.
What is Lymph?
Lymph is the fluid that flows through the lymphatic and lymph nodes which make up the lymphatic system. Lymph returns fluid from the tissues back to the heart. Around 2 litres of lymph leak from the cardiovascular system into body tissues every day. It helps large molecules like hormones and lipids to enter the blood. Lymph contains infection fighting white blood cells.
Lymphatic system
The lymphatic system circulates nutrients throughout the body. It collects and removes toxins, bacteria, viruses and waste from our cells.
Unlike the circulatory system where the heart pumps blood around the body, the lymphatic system has no central pump to move fluid around. Instead it depends on the movement of the diaphragm during breathing and the massaging effect of surrounding muscles during movement to allow the lymph to flow around the body.
And this is why exercise is so important.
The lymphatic system is closely linked to digestion. A healthy lymphatic system will allow the absorption of fatty acids and vitamins A, D, E and K. If your lymphatic system is unhealthy, as in people with Fibromyalgia, you can suffer from malnutrition. Additionally an unhealthy lymphatic system cannot metabolize fat and carbohydrate properly leading to weight gain and obesity.
So it becomes clear that free flowing lymph is vital for a healthy body, allowing the blood to become fresh and clean. It allows absorption of vital vitamins and hormones to reach our cells and removes all of the damaging toxic sludge.
Traditional ancient medicine
Very ancient cultures such as the Indian and the Chinese have passed down their wisdom of health and wellness. Largely ignored by Western conventional medicine, the lymph system and lymph health are seen as very important by Ayurveda and Chinese medicine.
The Ayurvedic therapies and practices has its roots in the Indian subcontinent and consider healthy lymph of paramount importance. The lymphatic system is seen as the most important system in the body. Lymph or ‘Rasa’ meaning ‘water of life’ is the first of the 7 body tissues and the first to become unhealthy under stress.
Similarly in Chinese medicine it is understood just how important a healthy lymphatic system is to the whole body.
Fibromyalgia and lymph health in Chinese medicine
Having an unhealthy lymphatic system is termed as ‘Excessive Dampness’ in traditional Chinese medicine.
"In Chinese Medicine, excessive dampness is considered to be the cause of many illnesses such as high cholesterol, cancer, metabolic disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, allergies and environmental illness."
THE TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
CONCEPT OF DAMPNESS
Some of the symptoms of ‘Excessive Dampness’ are: joint pain, heavy and tired limbs, fatigue, worsened allergies and food sensitivities, depression, brain fog, digestion problems, unexplained skin rashes, mood swings, gaining weight too easily, edema or water retention, low energy and cold hands and feet.
These symptoms may sound familiar to people who have Fibromyalgia. It is obvious that Fibromyalgia and lymph health are very much connected.
In ancient cultures because it was known that a free flowing healthy lymphatic system was key to preventing many, many ailments, practices to allow the circulation of lymph were developed.
These practices were Qigong and Yoga.
Both Qigong and Yoga involve deep breathing, slow movements and specific postures. And as we know the only way to allow lymph to flow freely is by deep breathing and movement.
So when you are diagnosed with Fibromyalgia you are told by the medical professionals that gentle forms of exercise, such as Yoga or Tai Chi (similar to Qigong) is good for you, now you know why.
Although I doubt very much, that they know why as they are schooled in Western medicine and have little or no understanding of ancient medicine systems.
My experience of Fibromyalgia and lymph health
My experience of Fibromyalgia and lymph health was the final piece of the very puzzling jigsaw of my illness. My road to recovery from Fibromyalgia symptoms has been long, winding and tortuous. But after following my own advice, outlined in my cure for Fibromyalgia, I realised the importance of having a healthy lymphatic system.
I already practiced Qigong daily and I knew it made me feel much better and all my symptoms improved, including the elimination of fatigue, my aches and pains drastically reduced and my mood very much improved.
It was while undergoing some trigger point massage and myofascial release therapy from my physiotherapist that he mentioned that I had edema (swelling) in my feet, ankles and legs. He advised me to start wearing compression stockings or support tights. He encouraged me to do some self lymphatic massage at home, (see video below).
On my return home, I of course researched edema, sometimes spelt as oedema, and found that problems with the lymphatic system were the likely cause of the swelling.
I looked for ways to improve my lymphatic system and surprise, surprise found that Qigong was originally created to circulate healthy lymph to prevent illness.
I amped up my daily practice of Qigong and intensified the long myofascial release stretches, (see videos below) I already did and I started to do self lymphatic massage at home.
It dawned on me that the aches and pains I felt throughout my body were undoubtedly caused by toxic clogged tissues. It finally clicked how Fibromyalgia and lymph health were connected.
My chunky, hard ankles and calves (cankles) were filled with toxic waste that had been unable to be filtered by my poorly lymphatic system. My blobby knees were not just painful but looked horrific. My arms too were swollen, painful and hard. My whole body just felt as if it was one big blob of terrible pain. I knew I was not just overweight. I knew the blobbiness was not just fat. I now know it was a build up of painful toxic tissues.
My physiotherapist suggested I bought a Reviber Handheld Deep Tissue Massager using the heat setting from Amazon. He used the exact same model on me and I always felt so much better. He always used the heat setting and at maximum power and explained that the vibrational nature of the treatment was different to just an ordinary massage. After each treatment my body felt lighter, slimmer and more importantly had significantly less pain.
Reading the Amazon reviews for the massager I was intrigued to read an excellent review from a woman who suffered from Lipoedema (also spelt Lipedema) known as the painful fat disease. She explained how the massager helped her break up the painful fat on her legs, hips and arms and how the heating setting warmed up the deep tissues.
I, of course researched Lipedema, and found it only effected women, had an unknown cause and no effective treatment other than expensive and invasive liposuction had been found.
Could my painful fatty tissues be Lipedema? Could Lipedema and Fibromyalgia be connected?
With the help from my husband I used the Reviber Handheld Deep Tissue Massager daily and the results were amazing.
Gradually as my lymphatic system became healthy, I too became healthy and slim. My blobby knees disappeared, my calves became soft and slimmer and my ankles were no longer surrounded by hard toxic tissue. My arms and torso also slimmed down.
My formerly freezing cold hands and feet were now perfectly normal. The unexplained rash on the backs of my arms, knees and around my ankles had cleared up after having it for over 5 years.
My face slimmed down and I began to look and feel more youthful. I had all the energy I needed and no longer needed to nap in the afternoon.
My mood was bright and happy and I no longer sobbed daily.
I felt the real me was freed. I’d been imprisoned for too long in a body suit of toxic tissues and was tortured mentally and physically each day for years and now I had gained my freedom. I have no pain, no fatigue and no depression at last!