Both are good for your health and can be wonderfully relaxing. But there are plenty of differences between them. When it comes to choosing, your main consideration should be what you want to achieve with treatment. Main areas of difference:

• Principle
  Massage increases blood flow, MLD increases lymph flow. This is over-simplified to illustrate the main difference. You might have heard that massage also increases lymph flow. However, with massage encouraging blood to and from the tissues faster, and the primary role of lymph being to mop up what the blood cannot transport, most of the increased lymph supply will be busy assisting the increased blood supply. In contrast, MLD techniques are designed to focus on speeding up the lymph only.
• Depth of pressure
  Massage is generally a muscle technique, while MLD is a skin technique. Muscles are deeper than skin, so massage goes deeper. A considerate massage therapist always remembers to check pressure with the client. A similar check is never required with MLD. ‘Wow, it really is light,’ many clients say after their first MLD session. Many struggle to stay awake during MLD facials!
• Treatment experience
  Massage uses a combination of strokes (effleurage, petrissage, etc.) to focus on muscles and connective tissues, as well as massage mediums (oils, creams, waxes) to facilitate the gliding motion and sometimes to bring in the properties of essential oils or other herbs. MLD technique is very different and is applied directly to the skin, no oils etc. With MLD precision is crucial and most treatments will be carried out in a particular sequence, to encourage lymph flow along particular pathways. MLD technique is rhythmic and repetitive, hence has a somewhat ‘hypnotic’ feel to it. MLD treatments generally only cover up to three body parts per session, however it has been shown that even if MLD was only done on the neck area it would still speed up lymph flow in other areas.
• Applications
  For anything that benefits from increased blood flow to the tissues, go for massage. For anything that benefits from increased lymph flow, go for MLD. In general those looking to tackle muscle tension will have massage. MLD sits somewhere in the space between health and beauty (aesthetics) and has specialized applications: decongestion, removal of excess fluid and toxicity, speeding up healing of fractures, surgery scars, bruising, etc. The light touch means that one can have MLD straight after surgery or directly on a bruised area. MLD is also safe in pregnancy and can help reduce ankle swelling.
• Treatment plan
  With any treatment, you may be recommended a more intense start, gradually spacing out the sessions. If you suffer from tension-related back pain, you might have weekly massage to start with, then space out to montly maintenance treatment. While a similar approach can be taken with MLD, it depends on the application. MLD is very popular as an intensive course of treatments scheduled around times when the body needs additional support (e.g. a course of treatments for your yearly detox, or to prepare the body for conception, or to support healing after surgery).

Check out other Akana articles about the benefits of massage and MLD and get in touch if you’d like to discuss your options for treatment.

Are you trying to conceive? Just about to start your IVF journey or already in the process? You might want to give Crofton Healthcare a call.

Assisted Conception is demanding and stressful, something the therapists at Crofton Healthcare in Woking know, both from personal experience and through many years of working with fertility clients.

The Crofton team support women and their partners with natural fertility, assisted conception and pregnancy. Therapies include acupuncture, manual lymph drainage, massage and nutritional advice. Keep it simple – there’s a right time for each treatment and the Crofton team will be happy to advise. They also have a good local referral network, should you benefit from another approach.

Crofton Healthcare is conveniently located ten minutes from the Victoria Wing (Woking Nuffield Hospital) and open Mondays to Saturdays. Call us on  01483 770529  to arrange your consultation.

You can meet the members of the Crofton team and hear them talk about how the complementary therapies they offer can assist your IVF journey at the Victoria Wing, Woking Nuffield (WISH Group) on Thursday 8th of March 7.30pm. You don’t have to be a patient at the Nuffield to attend.

by Nadia Sempels

Having fertility treatment can be very stressful, and I speak from personal experience. It was my own fertility journey that brought me to acupuncture. The years of trying to conceive naturally, raised hopes, disappointments, endless doctor and specialist appointments and medical procedures might be behind me now, but I still vividly remember the emotional stresses that went hand in hand with it all. For me, it was all worth it in the end and on top of it, the fertility treatments made me go and see an acupuncturist… a turning point, not just for our family, but also for my career. I was fascinated, so went on to study a degree course and have now been supporting couples through their own fertility journey for several years.

I often compare the whole IVF procedure to a hurdle race as stress levels are high at every stage, not just whilst waiting for the end result. You are riding a rollercoaster of emotions, not helped by the fact that taking all the different drugs can make you feel as though your hormones are out of your control. Your partner may feel slightly left out with all the focus on your body. In addition, he too will be desperate for the treatment to work.

Counselling is a very good way of dealing with the emotions of fertility treatment in a safe, blameless environment. Ask at your fertility clinic if they have a counsellor available, and if they don’t, speak to your GP. Alternatively, the British Infertility Counselling Association (bica) has a search facility on their website. Complementary medicine can’t unblock tubes or make eggs if you’ve had an early menopause, but it can help get you in the best possible shape to deal physically and mentally with the challenges ahead when trying to conceive. Whilst some studies have shown that moderate stress levels can even be beneficial for success rates in IVF cycles, the often constantly high stress levels during several years are, however, detrimental. Fertility patients are often left feeling out of control and this type of stress plays havoc on health.

Research has shown that acupuncture may benefit stress levels, anxiety disorders and even depression by acting on areas of the brain known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress. It regulates levels of neurotransmitters and hormones such as serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine, hence altering the brain’s mood chemistry to help to combat negative affective states. Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, while acupuncture can activate the opposing parasympathetic nervous system, which initiates the relaxation response. Patients often talk of getting into that lovely, almost slightly drowsy, relaxed state. Magic needles!

On top of that, I find that once patients start feeling better, they often find their own strategies to control stress. They also find the strength to address their lifestyle and diet, all important factors in fertility.

You might have heard of clinical trials, of which most seem to suggest that acupuncture may be useful in the embryo transfer stage of IVF, and results in an increased pregnancy rate and a greater number of live births. Please check out the website of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC), for more detailed references to this research. Statistics, protocols and success rates are one thing, however. Traditional acupuncture takes a holistic approach to health and endeavours to re-address the imbalances in each individual. The traditional acupuncturist’s skill lies not just in being aware of the latest research and protocols, but also in identifying the precise nature of the underlying disharmony and selecting the most effective treatment. The choice of acupuncture points will be specific to each patient’s needs.

When I first walked into my acupuncturist’s treatment room 10 years ago, little did I know how it would change my life for the better, and in how many different ways. I still get stressed, of course I do, but I now feel I have the tools to deal with it much better.

Nadia initially gained a Masters in Physical Education and Sports Sciences in Leuven, Belgium.  After moving to the UK in 1991, she was the Deputy to the Flemish Commercial Attaché. She obtained a BSc (Hons) degree in Acupuncture at CICM in Reading, unique in teaching an integrated style combining Traditional Chinese Medicine with Five Element Constitutional acupuncture. She is based at Crofton Healthcare in Woking, www.croftonhealthcare.co.uk, and one of her special interests is acupuncture for fertility and during pregnancy. She is a member of the BAcC.

Web: www.nadiasempelsacupuncture.co.uk

You don’t have to put up with pregnancy-related swollen ankles, wrists, or carpal tunnel syndrome. Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) therapy can help.

MLD was once described in the Saturday Daily Mail as ‘one of the best kept secrets on the health and beauty scene’. It is a powerful, but surprisingly gentle technique, which helps balance fluid in the tissue. London’s leading fertility expert Zita West recommends MLD as beneficial at any stage of reproduction: to detoxify, boost the immune system, balance hormones and relieve fluid congestion. It is incredibly relaxing and can help you sleep better. It feels like pampering – with a purpose.

The lymphatic system is a waste disposal system. It doesn’t sound glamorous, but it plays a key role in your body. Lymphatic vessels collect fluid from the tissues and take it through the lymph nodes to filter out harmful substances before returning it to the bloodstream. From there, it is eliminated with other body waste. The lymphatic circulation relies mainly on muscular movement and has no pump like the blood circulation has the heart. MLD techniques can help boost lymphatic circulation.

In pregnancy, your body produces and retains more fluid. Oedema (swelling) is most often an issue during the third trimester. It may be worse at the end of a day and in summer. When you press the skin around your ankles, it might not spring back straight away. Your rings might feel tight on your fingers.

In general, oedema is part and parcel of pregnancy, but it is important to check with your doctor to rule out other causes of swelling, for example pre-eclampsia.

Put your feet up. Take breaks from sitting or standing. Go for a walk. Join a pregnancy yoga or Pilates class. Go for a swim. Wear loose fitting clothing. Try flight socks or maternity hosiery (if not too hot!), and put them on before the day starts. Eat healthily. Drink plenty of water.

And have MLD treatment. You might soon notice that you need to go to the toilet more often, as the re-energised lymphatic system starts to move excess fluid and waste.

At your first session, your therapist will carry out a consultation and recommend the number and frequency of future sessions. Treatments usually last for about an hour. Like in classic massage, you will be covered in towels except for the area being worked on.

MLD is one of the safest treatments available to pregnant women. It is a gentle ‘skin technique’ and uses no oils or powders, so nothing is being introduced to upset the developing foetus. There is no need for you to suffer from swollen anything.

Contact Akana with any questions or to book a treatment.

Listen to Astrid Lowe talk about MLD on Brooklands Radio’s Mind Body & Spirit show on 11 November 2011.

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