Beware of Brazilian MLD & Body Sculpting Exaggerated Claims

I think it is time to say a word about some of the latest fad therapies that are floating around Instagram and Social Media. 

Terms like Brazilian MLD, MLD Sculpting, Body Contouring Massage, even Menopausal MLD are everywhere.   These dramatic photos and exaggerated claims leave many clients hopeful and optimistic.  After all, who wouldn't want to walk into a spa, not go under the knife or an expensive machine, and leave for a couple of hundred dollars vs  several tens of thousands with a younger slimmer body.

I know of one practitioner in NY who charges up to $800 per treatment and is booked out several months.

It sounds too good to be true right?  That's because it is.










As a Certified Lymphedema therapist and MLD practitioner for over 10 years, someone who has worked on hundreds maybe a thousand clients, I can tell you with confidence and integrity, that is not how it works.

Most of what you see online is a combination of "sucking in", flattering camera angles and or Photoshop.

MLD is a very very subtle manipulation of tissues.  The structures and vessels we work with are impossibly small, close to the skin surface  and they fluid movement is slow. It requires light gentle touch.

You simply cannot "sculpt" or reroute fat by squeegeeing it or pushing it with a stick or device.  You cannot suck it around with a machine.  As for the fluid, excess fluids built up in the tissues is a significant medical issue.  MLD is done mostly for medical reasons, pain management and yes esthetics.

But when you think about MLD as a treatment for you think about it in terms of wellness.  Will it help with what you call "detox" YES.  Will it help with bloating and excess fluid....fluid yes! fat no.

In instances of MLD for the general public (where Lymphedema itself is not being treated)  it can really be helpful with fluid build up. Because the lymphatic system is connected to you immune system as well as facilitating managing cellular waste, it can be helpful with things like "detox".  Due to its gentle calming rhythmic strokes and analgesic effect, it can also be helpful with headaches, migraine and overall stress.   As for body contouring, where MLD can really be helpful is in conjunction with a surgical procedures, whether it's reconstructive or cosmetic.   Surgical intervention is trauma. It brings temporary swelling to the tissues.  MLD can be extremely helpful as a post operative or even pre-operative treatment.

Post Op Care
Within the past decades a whole new form of post-surgical healing has emerged – Post Surgical Manual Lymphatic Drainage.

The post-surgical case for MLD 
Inflammation. (and fibrosis).  It all really comes down to inflammation.  Surgery is trauma. And trauma triggers a trauma response.  Part of that response is swelling. Swelling is a normal part of healing, but it can be uncomfortable and chronic swelling can lead to other issues. Manual Lymphatic Drainage helps the lymphatic drainage system function at a peak level to draw fluids away from a swollen area.  Stimulation of the lymphatic system increases the rate at which the body removes waste, dead cell particles, and inflammatory agents from our tissue.s   Accelerating the lymphatic flow has been demonstrated to reduce swelling and bruising in the injured region. Studies indicate that as the volume of fluid at the injury site is reduced, rehabilitation time may be shortened.  Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) can play an important role in post-surgery recovery to reduce inflammation but also by playing a role in the reduction of pain, stiffness and bruising,

You may receive Post-Surgical MLD treatments within 3 days after surgery.
Doctors who know of Post Surgical MLD will sometimes suggest treatment as soon as 3-days after surgery.  This early intervention assists with helping to minimize bruising and swelling.  However, some doctors suggest or even mandate patients wait from 2-6 weeks after surgery before receiving treatment.  With a Doctor's permission, I will work on clients generally beginning 3 days to a week after surgery.  No work will be done on or near an incision this early  - only after it has healed.  Generally after 2-3 weeks all work is safe unless there are complications with your surgery.

Pushing fluids and tissues out from unhealed incisions is NOT MLD
There is a "misunderstanding" in various places in the United States and abroad that the way to get lymphatic fluid out of your body is to reopen the incisions and push fluid out manually.   First, this process is outside the scope of practice (100% illegal) for any massage therapist or MLD therapist in any of the 50 United States. Unless the person performing this process is a nurse or similarly licensed healthcare worker in a clinic with biohazard bags, gloves, face shield, gowns, etc., they should not be doing this. If you are a surgery patient and someone wants you to do this, or to do this to you, run.

YouTube videos are NOT an alternative to hands-on MLD - But I can show you Self Care MLD strokes you can do at home
When time and budget allow, MLD is best performed by a trained therapist, however not everyone has the time or budget for a series of visits.  One challenge with online videos is that you never know what you are getting. I see massage videos all the time that contradict the actual work. Further it is easy to "mimic, " maybe, but if you don't know the "why" behind what you are doing, or know if you are doing it right, you may be doing things contrary or ineffective to the healing process.  If you want to do MLD self care at a minimum, book a treatment with some extra time and go home with a self care routine that you know will be effective.

MLD does NOT use brushes, tools, cupping, bamboo sticks, rollers, or creams.
MLD uses only the hands and is performed without oils, lotions or creams. It involves movement of the skin in particular directions, and gentle pressure toward the body. Any other technique, tool, cream, or even cupping, is not part of the Post Surgical MLD process and should be avoided. If you have a therapist who is insistent on using creams, tool, cups or rollers, just say “No!” and tell them to use hands only. If they refuse, simply end the session and leave.  There are instances where cups and tools can be used during the healing process, but it is not for lymphatic drainage.

Having said that dry brushing is a form of self care that can work in between appointments. The theory being that working on your own skin with your own hands is not easy to get the right pressure, and a brush may help you. 


I see clients in my Hanover office for lymphedema, Oncology overall wellness and for post op care: clients who have had procedures such as lipo-360, mommy makeover, breast reduction or augmentation, Brazilian butt lifts, abdominoplasty (tummy tucks), cool sculpting, brachioplasty, facelifts, hip replacements, shoulder surgeries, lumpectomies, mastectomies and reconstruction, gender affirmation surgeries.

If you have an interest in MLD and have questions, please feel free to contact me and I will happily answer what I can.

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