While traditional massage involves applying pressure to sore muscles and kneading the skin with the help of lotions or oils, Susan Casaccio, licensed massage therapist, says lymphatic massage is completely different.
“With lymphatic massage, no lotions or oils are used and the pressure on the skin is minimal. We use strokes rather than massaging, and the amount of pressure is described as a dime or nickel’s worth of weight,” she says.
This gentle and noninvasive form of massage can be used to treat many health conditions, Susan says, including lymphedema/chronic tissue swelling, post-operative edema, post-traumatic edema, sports injuries and scar tissue.
“Also, a lot of times after a mastectomy or oncology treatment, the client will require and benefit from lymphatic massage,” she says.
Susan says her clients start each session with deep diaphragmatic breathing before she begins the lymphatic massage, using slow and rhythmical movements moving from top to bottom.
“Lymphatic massage involves a light and repetitive skin stretching movement that is very specific—the skin in stretched in a specific direction and sequence to help speed the rate at which lymphatic fluids reach the appropriate nodes for filtration,” she says, adding that each session ends with more diaphragmatic breathing.
Susan also offers the following types of massage: Swedish, deep tissue, customized therapeutic, trigger-point therapy and sports massage. To schedule an appointment, please contact the Sun Health Center for Health & Wellbeing at 623-832-WELL (9355).
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