If you’re following my Mommy Makeover Journey with Cosmeticare, I think I’m almost done with my Lymphatic Drainage Massage Therapy. During the Pre-Op appointment, I received a long checklist to take care of BEFORE and AFTER surgery including a recommendation to schedule weekly lymphatic massages one to two weeks POST surgery to help with the healing process. I have not heard of it before and didn’t know what to expect, but after I got the green light from my doctor, I proceeded with my first session with Amanda Westover. She lives in South County and will travel to your home if it is within 30 minutes of Rancho Santa Margarita. You will need a low traffic area where she can unfold her table and you will feel more comfortable. She also brings her own music and heated mat. When the kids were home, I needed to be in a quiet bedroom. When the children were in school, I liked being in the living room and it was perfectly calming. It was a one hour light massage, and I was totally relaxed. She was very careful with me and made sure she didn’t hurt me. When she got to my abdomen (where I was injured), it felt really strange, because I can feel her move water away from that area. I started to schedule her weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) but one week at a time and as needed. She was very pleasant and professional. I had a great experience with her. I know I had lots of questions about what this is so it might be easier to understand coming from Amanda. Please see our Q&A below!
Q1. What is Lymphatic Massage?
“A Lymphatic massage uses light rhythmic touch to improve lymph circulation. It is important to note that it is not a deep tissue massage, rather a light, rhythmic and relaxing massage. It is common to have my clients fall asleep during a massage.” ~Amanda.
Q2. Why is it important and why is it recommended?
“A lymphatic massage helps support the immune system and helps rid the body of waste that can increase pain, cause inflammation and fatigue. In addition to reducing pain and inflammation, a lymphatic massage also aides in reducing scarring. For individuals recovering from surgery, recovering from cancer, suffering from depression or lack of energy, a lymphatic massage is highly recommended for all of the reasons above.” ~Amanda
Q3. How many times or how often do we need it after surgery?
“To my clients who have recently undergone surgery, I recommend scheduling their first lymphatic massage one week post surgery and continue massages once a week for 2 – 4 weeks (depending on circumstances). Some of my clients feel great after two to three massages & others will continue to schedule massages 4 to 6 weeks after surgery.” ~Amanda
Amanda, please tell me more about yourself.
“Twelve years ago I became certified and licensed as an esthetician. Over the years of working, I became fascinated by the power of the human body and how it all works. During continued education research, I came to learn about and realize the importance of our lymphatic system and understand how it can aide in the healing process. It became evident to me how underutilized this process was, so it became my passion to travel to people’s homes to help them recover without using more medication and pain relievers. I obtained my license and became certified and have been doing it ever since. I am unique in the fact that I travel to my clients home. I have found that this really helps my clients especially since most of them are recovering from different situations in their life. I live in the Orange County area (Rancho Santa Margarita) and travel up to 30 miles from my home to massage my clients.
A lymphatic massage helps in so many ways but what my clients do after the massage can make such a big difference in their healing process. One of the things that I recommend to all of my clients is the use of arnica oil. You can buy this oil from any Sprouts, Whole Foods, etc. and it comes in many different forms from oil that you rub on your body to drops that you put under your tongue. Arnica is a tremendous help in aiding with swelling and bruising. I also recommend dry brushing in between massages. Dry brushing helps stimulate your lymphatic system. Most importantly, I try to remind my clients to DRINK, DRINK, DRINK LOTS OF WATER. Drinking lots of water will help flush out all the toxins we released during the massage.” ~ Amanda Westover
Amanda Westover can be reached at (480) 580-0975 or via email at [email protected]. We communicated mostly over text messages because she would send me friendly reminders and it was my preferred way of communicating but she also responds to phone calls and emails.