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December 3, 2005

Lymph Drainage For Lungs

I had a new client yesterday who is recuperating from pneumonia. They presented with a wheezing cough, sinus congestion and shoulder pain.

I started the massage working on the shoulders which were probably sore from excess coughing. Their tension went up into the neck, and knot had formed, much like a crick, in the "L" of the neck where it meets the shoulder.

I had them turn over and performed my sinus protocol on them. My sinus routine involves a combination of craniosacral holds, lymph drainage therapy and pressure points around the eyes and cheek bones.

At this point, they needed to sit up and cough because the sinuses had begun to drain. After they got comfortable again, I performed lymph drainage on the lungs. This consists of three holds over each of the lobes of the lungs (on women the second hold will be off of the chest and onto the sides of the ribs in order to avoid compressing breast tissue). This technique is surprisingly pleasant because the timing of the gentle compression is in sync with the breath.

Posted by linda at December 3, 2005 9:14 AM