I`m writing this in a very surreal time for all of us, but it seems particularly cruel for those of us whose livelihoods depend on working in direct and close contact with people. Some of us will be furloughed for now, then there are thousands staring at an empty appointment book and bank account and the foreseeable future for our beloved massage industry changed forever and never has it been more uncertain. Having said all that, when we are out of this virus crisis and getting back to some form of normality there is one area of massage yet untapped and unknown by most therapists that will be needed by all your clients more than ever and that is lymphatic massage. We have learnt over time and are still learning about its potentially devastating effect on the body, we read about the immune system and inflammation. But what is really going on in the body to give us these symptoms, why does it kill and how can we help stay healthier and stronger?
Why does Covid-19 affect us so badly? Because the lymphatic system affects every part of your body as it lays next to each blood vessel at the venous return. It is your immune system and when needed it causes a natural inflammatory response. However, this system is terribly slow and easily gets blocked and sluggish when overloaded and reduces to up to 50% when we are stressed. The immune and inflammatory response is down to the lymphatic system and from early invasion as this system tries to fight the virus it shows early signs of infection and then sometimes tragically loses its battle.
KNOWN SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19
Fatigue
When the whole system is fighting infection, the same as Glandular Fever it will naturally cause lethargy and fatigue throughout the whole body because it is swelling up inside and when we have too much fluid in our blood our cells will suffocate. This is because this system is under attack is causing inflammation and as a normal function of the lymphatic system is to keep the blood clean helping oxygenation of tissues, we feel tired through lack of oxygenation of cells. Symptoms can present as experiencing aching joints this will be because our lymph nodes swell up and they reside in abundance in the joints of our body.
Nose and Tongue
Anosmia is a loss of sense of smell. Dysgeusia is a taste disorientation of the mouth and these symptoms were also overlooked for weeks. However, the first contact entry point for infection and quite rightly placed here are lymphatics and lymphoid tissue. The mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) is a diffuse system of small concentrations of lymphoid tissue found in various sites of the body and these include the oral passage, nasopharyngeal tract and salivary glands. MALT is populated by lymphocytes such as T cells and B cells, as well as plasma cells and macrophages. If the lymphatic system is under attack it will be flooding the area with an immune response in this process cells will lose their original and extremely sensitive taste and smell sensations whilst fighting infection. Mouth, nose and tongue are the first points of entry because we breathe.
Fever
Inflammation is a sign of the body’s natural response to infection. When the immune system is mobilised, the flurry of activity by defensive cells causes by-products such as heat and skin redness, or fever when the whole system is involved. It is triggered by floating biochemical substances called pyrogens, which flow from sites where the immune system has identified potential trouble to the hypothalamus via the bloodstream. Profuse sweating associated with a fever is the lymphatic system ridding the body of waste from infection and trying to cool the body down from evaporation on the skin.
Skin
Is the biggest lymphatic organ of the body. The following symptoms were not revealed for weeks but then recently associated with Covid-19, hive like rashes and small red dots on the legs and abdomen. The lymphatic system originates in the skin the biggest lymphatic organ of the body, because within the interstitium, [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-23062-6] lymphatic capillaries lie directly underneath the epidermis and if necessary, will try to expel waste and toxins out through the lymphatic capillaries and Langerhans cells, also seen in allergic reactions like eczema and allergen related dermatitis. Langerhans cells (LC) are tissue-resident dendritic cells of the skin, and contain organelles called Birbeck granules. They are present in all layers of the epidermis and are most prominent in the stratum spinosum. In the skin, they specialize in antigen presentation and belong to the skin immune system (SIS). Hives are an inflammation response by the lymphatic system. Eyes are the ability to see through the skin and Covid-19 causes dilation of capillaries therefore eyes can show visible signs of liver infection with the red eyes associated with Covid -19 infection.
Lungs
Probably the most dramatically affected by the virus and the reason for a fatal infection. It starts with a cough that will not go away. This is the first sign the body is trying to get rid of the virus by trying to stimulate the diaphragm to move the waste fluid out of the lung tissue and move the lymph system up through the Thoracic Duct to help fight infection. Consequential inflammation in the abundance of lymphoid tissue and saturation of the fluid within lymph nodes surrounding the bronchia the lungs finds the lymphatic system overloaded and unable to cope. This also causes persistent pain from the pressure within the chest. Again, the lymphatic system flooding the lungs to fight the infection. Additionally, when the regional bronchial nodes are congested because of chylous reflux into the thoracic cavity, lymph drainage is considerably impaired and as the volume of lymphoid tissue increases with age this will make the elderly more vulnerable.
Abdomen I would probably say that this is a sign of quite a bad infection, but we misunderstand our natural bowel movement daily and have done for a long time. We can regularly have pains in the abdomen and diarrhoea from food intolerance to stress. I think more awareness if the bowel change is sudden with an aching tummy and is linked to other signs like fatigue, eye colour, skin temperature, flushed cheeks and heat or aching joints is necessary. Why is the abdomen linked to Covid-19? Diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and/or abdominal pain is caused because sixty percent of your immune system, the lymphatic system, lies within the abdomen. The severity of the infection will have a dramatic effect on the lymph nodes, lacteals and Peyer`s patches within the intestines. Evacuation from here, whether via the back passage or mouth is the way the body will try to excrete waste or poison. The system within the abdomen can be associated on the same level as with the pain in the chest it is caused by excess fluid created by your immune system, the lymphatic system
Liver and Kidneys
Both are organs of your waste system and again the virus affects and severely damages them as it tries to fight the virus. If the flow of lymph from the liver is severely reduced because the cisterna chyli is obstructed the lymph vessels of the liver become enlarged and lymph and chyle flow back through the liver into the lymph vessels of the diaphragm Covid19 virus causes the body to produce excessive proteins.
Kidneys.
The lymph nodes help regulate the protein levels in the blood, too many proteins and not enough fluid passing through the body causes malfunction of the kidneys
Obesity
Obesity means you already have a dysfunctional lymphatic system. If you have a system that is ineffective it will not be able to fight infection effectively. The lymphatic system regulates your fat within the body, and it needs to be able to do this to store or use fat when needed. It shows dysfunction by visible inflammation and swelling, ankles, tummy breasts. Any swelling that does not recede will usually be associated with further medical problems and complaints and becoming very fat is swelling of the whole torso. Inflammation is not good for the body and overweight people, sadly almost two out of three on us fall into this group have been shown to have higher levels of inflammatory messenger molecules called cytokines, which interfere with and damage normal immune cell functions. This is due to lack of movement within the lymphatic system. Inflammation is a clue to what lies behind the high number of coronavirus deaths in Britain compared with Italy or Spain, reflecting the serious extent of underlying chronic disease and justifying our new label as the sickest population in Europe. Government statistics show that more than 90 per cent of Covid-19 deaths are among people aged over 60, with three-quarters in people classed as obese. Millions of Britons are living with conditions linked to inflammation.
All the following symptoms can present individually or collectively. The one thing they all have in common is that it is your immune and lymphatic system is under attack and trying to fight an infection response with increased lymphatic fluid.
Yvette Jordan, Founder and Training Director of UKLC, has been a practicing therapist for 39 years and 13 years ago, she trained in level III CDT Lymphoedema Therapy at The Foëldi Klinik, Lymphology Hospital, Germany. At that time there were no available courses at this level in the UK. Yvette presently runs a private clinic in West Sussex, has volunteered for Look Good Feel Better for four years and runs the Worthing workshop as the Regional Co-ordinator. Additionally, she is a City and Guilds teacher, foundation Kinesiologist, a member of The British Lymphology from her experience is known as a Lymphatic Specialist Practitioner