Why does my swelling get worse in heat?
If you practice any kind of lymphatic support you have learned to lay off any excess heat after treatment (ie: dry brush BEFORE you shower, self MLD AFTER your sauna session). This is all based on physiology, or how the body responds to stimulus. Why put the work in just to negate what you just put the effort in for? So why would heat make swelling (or lymphedema for that matter) worse? Lets look at what’s happening to the body to get a grasp on how to handle it.
To understand this principal we need to look first at the circulatory system and how exchange happens. As your blood flows around your body it makes transfers of gasses and nutrients (kind like a bus stop) in these areas called CAPILLARY BEDS. It drops off what our cells need to survive and picks up what they no longer need in this specific area due the fact that the circulatory vessels are REALLY thin here, allowing for that transfer to happen (one of my all time repeated phrases is “Form equals Function” and this is a perfect example).
So here comes for blood to the bus stop, making its transfers before heading out on its journey around the body. Sometimes the bus stops get so overwhelmed that some of the passengers can’t get back on the next bus and get left behind. This is exactly what happens to molecules too big to get picked back up, along with a typical normal amount of fluid (think water, proteins, etc). Here is where our lymphatic system comes into play: it is the lymphatics job to pick up that fluid that has leaked out and return it back to the circulatory system. Along the way this lymph fluid will be filtered, processed, and condensed. But until that fluid is picked up by the lymphatic system it is NOT classified as lymph, it is just intestinal fluid hanging out between your cells. A fully functional lymphatic system has the capacity to handle this normal amount of fluid left behind (its called your lymph obligatory load) but sometimes the system just gets overwhelmed and this is where we run into trouble.
If for some reason the lymphatic system is not happy (congenital, surgical, pathological, etc) the lymphatic system is going to get backed up and present swelling.
Here comes the increase in temperature part!
Heat EXCITES things, makes things move faster and this includes your circulatory system. Heat will begin to INCREASE the volume of blood being pushed thru the capillary beds. More circulation thru the capillary beds equals more chance that there will be fluid filtering out into the surrounding tissues. Now your lymphatic system needs to work double time to make sure that interstitial fluid gets back to where it needs to be. A fully functioning lymph system is able to handle this demand, while (you guessed it) a lymphatic system that is already overtaxed will tap out and your swelling will get worse since that fluid in the tissue has increased.
Ok, so now that we have a handle on the WHY let’s looks at what we can do about it.
Wear your compression garments. I know I know it’s HOT out. But get them on while you can to assist with the extra work being asked of the lymphatic system (especially if you are doing any physical activity).
Hydrate! It sounds silly to add water when it’s what you’re trying to manage with your swelling but hydration is key here. I’m a big fan of getting some natural forms of potassium and sodium in there as well for electrolyte support.
Support where you can with some self MLD! Opening the terminus, attending to those big lymphatic cluster areas, dry brushing, whatever is in your wellness toolkit. Get it in where you fit it in.
Get in water! Submerging yourself in water has way too many benefits for me to even start listing here. Not only will this help you maintain body temperature but it also applies something called hydrostatic pressure on the skin of your body, assisting with lymphatic movement (think of a gentle pressure on the balloon, same idea with water and your body).
Lastly- listen to your body, know your limits, and work with what works for you! Im not going to tell you to opt out of heat, but just become more aware of how your particular body reacts.
So thats the heat friends! Some of us are going to be a lot more effected by heat then others. Start listening to your innate knowledge. You got this.