Cosmetological osteopathy: what is important to know

Roman Erokhov , Ph.D. D., osteopathic doctor, craniosacral therapist (Ukraine)

Female beauty is like a fairy-tale palace, each component of which plays its role in the beautiful “crown of creation.” And the components of beauty are a body with exciting shapes, skin, hair, well-being, and mood.

But, caring with all our might for the visible components of this wonderful palace, we often forget about its basis, its foundation. Exterior decoration of a palace standing on the sand is a thankless task: the fruits of effort are too short-lived. You can go on a diet for months, and then return to your original state in two weeks. You can spend a lot of time and money to “make a face” in the best beauty salon, and then quickly “lose” it for no apparent reason. So what is the reason for transience and what kind of foundation are we talking about?

The cornerstone of the foundation of beauty

The foundation of beauty is the state of the body’s main systems, primarily the lymphatic system, which largely determines our appearance. Lymph is a whitish liquid consisting of protein, chlorine, soda, oxides and glucose. The lymphatic system, like the circulatory system, permeates all tissues of the body and is responsible for immunity. Toxins, viruses, and decay products of cells, including tumor cells, are “dumped” into it. All this is neutralized by leukocytes in the lymph nodes. Our appearance, well-being, sexuality, and therefore our personal life largely depend on the state of lymph.

Unfortunately, the lymphatic system is very vulnerable. Our blood, as is known, is pushed through the vessels by a tireless pump - the heart. There is no such pump in the lymphatic system - there is natural lymph flow, and very slow (about 120 ml per day).

As a person ages, due to various diseases, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle and stress, the lymphatic pathways become clogged and narrowed. As a result of poor operation of the cleaning system, peroxide compounds are not removed from the cells, as a result of which moisture ceases to be removed, and the cells swell with water and toxins. Consequences – bruises and “bags” under the eyes, swelling, puffiness, fat folds on the skin, orange peel effect on the thighs, dermatoses... Specific manifestations depend on the characteristics of the body and the degree of “clogging” of the lymphatic system.

In addition, swollen cells squeeze the thinnest blood vessels - capillaries that go to the surface of the skin. Because of this, the skin does not receive the necessary nutrition, and decay products are not removed. Massage will undoubtedly improve blood circulation for a while, but if the system does not work on its own, any efforts will very soon come to naught.

If the lymphatic system is severely clogged, any diet is pointless. The body retains up to 60–70% of fluid, which is pumped out by the lymphatic system. You can starve yourself for weeks, but then regain all your kilograms in a few days. Going hungry in such a situation is like building a sand castle at the water's edge. Isn’t it wiser to first put the foundation in order, especially since modern science offers quite accessible means for this? One of the most effective is manual lymphatic drainage.

Lymphatic drainage: manual or hardware?

Lymphatic drainage is the “pumping” (drainage) of the lymphatic system. However, defining a procedure is much easier than actually implementing it. With manual lymphatic drainage, an experienced osteopathic doctor first relieves tension and spasms with his hands for an hour and only then carries out the actual “pumping” of the lymphatic system for 15–20 minutes.

The preparatory stage is crucial, since the main blockages for lymph flow are created not by waste products inside the lymphatic highways, but by microspasms that compress these highways from the outside. Almost imperceptible in everyday life, microspasms in tissues, ligaments and muscles sharply impair lymph flow, so without eliminating them, the procedure largely loses its meaning.

Hardware lymphatic drainage procedures offered by many beauty salons involve installing self-adhesive sensors and electrodes on the patient’s skin, which methodically shake the skin, affecting the muscles. This is supposed to revitalize the flow of lymph. However, the external constriction of the highways is not taken into account at all, since no device is able to detect the smallest spasms and tension deep in the tissues, much less eliminate them.

In addition, the main lymphatic centers - the thoracic duct and the abdominal cistern - are located deep inside the chest and abdominal cavity, and their development is possible only with the hands. Hardware procedures only affect the peripheral part of the lymphatic system (limbs), and only its surface layer.

Cosmetological osteopathy

What are cosmetic “defects” from the perspective of osteopathy? Aren’t such seemingly purely aesthetic problems as puffy cheeks, puffiness under the eyes, a double chin, a network of wrinkles, and malocclusion a “disease” of the tissues? After all, the cause of all these conditions lies precisely in the disruption of blood supply, lymphatic drainage and innervation.

Aesthetic (cosmetological) osteopathy is a section of osteopathic therapy that studies the restoration of health to the tissues of the face and body, the return of natural beauty, velvety skin, normal color (capillary blood flow) and optimal function (facial muscles). The most common cause of the formation of edema, puffiness, pastiness, double and triple chin is lymphatic stasis in the head and neck area. Osteopaths know that the cause of stasis and lymph flow disorders can be problems at the level of the thoracic aperture (fixation, displacement of the clavicles and first ribs blocking the lymph flow paths), neck problems (displacement of the vertebrae with the formation of muscle protection and, accordingly, deterioration of local lymph flow), and and problems of distant organs (inflammatory foci, dysfunction of the liver, endocrine glands, intestines, kidneys), affecting the overall composition of the lymph.

Uncompensated psycho-emotional reactions, leading to protective muscle spasms at different levels of the body, also play an important role in impaired lymphatic drainage. Disruption of the normal relationships and functions of the bones of the facial skull, and primarily the lower jaw, also affects the drainage system of the soft tissues of the face.

As for wrinkles, pathological microspasm of facial muscles (fixed, among other things, by inadequate psychological attitudes - “personal masks” of the face) is the basis for the formation of wrinkles, disturbances in the trophism (nutrition) of the skin with the formation of areas of depletion and age spots.

Fixations and imbalances at the level of the skull bones are the cause of facial asymmetry, differences in the distance of the zygomatic bones, orbital deformities, and malocclusion.

Modern cosmetological osteopathy has a large number of techniques and techniques for correcting all these pathological conditions and restoring beauty to the face and body.

How does osteopathic lymphatic drainage differ from other types of lymphatic drainage?

Firstly, the depth and degree of impact on tissues during osteopathic lymphatic drainage is determined by the tissues themselves and their condition. This is extremely important, since only under this condition does the effect become as effective as possible. If the tissues are “squeezed”, that is, the effect is exerted more strongly than is allowed by their condition, then the outflow of lymph will not be carried out fully, since the lymphatic vessels will not be able to acquire optimal throughput - they are in compression. If the tissues are not “put under pressure”, that is, the effect is carried out weaker than their condition requires, the outflow of lymph will also not be carried out fully due to the reduced tone of the lymphatic vessels. Here, in the degree of impact on the patient’s tissue, it is the “golden mean” that is important, which only the trained hands of an osteopathic doctor can determine. But that is not all!

During the osteopathic lymphatic drainage procedure, the effect is not only on the peripheral lymphatic vessels, but also on the main (central) ones, which determines the maximum effectiveness of the treatment. For all other methods of lymphatic drainage (hardware or massage) this is not available in principle! The main lymphatic centers are located deep inside: their study is possible only with the hands of a qualified specialist; no device is able to relieve the smallest spasms and tension deep in the tissues. And it is generally impossible to reach the lymphatic vessels in the chest cavity with the help of superficial muscle massage.

The next difference is that the procedure is carried out with preliminary preparation, when numerous spasms and blocks in the body are removed using osteopathic techniques. With deep lymphatic drainage, the osteopath first relieves spasticity from the entire body: from ligaments, from muscles that block blood vessels. It is not enough to drain the lymphatic system - you must first straighten the muscles and ligaments (with other types of lymphatic drainage, as a rule, there is no preparatory stage, which makes them less effective).

So real deep lymphatic drainage is a multi-stage procedure performed by an osteopathic doctor in three or five sessions. Osteopathic massage is gradual, step-by-step. First, as mentioned earlier, tension is relieved from the muscles and ligaments, and only then the doctor works with his hands on the main lymphatic centers, located deep inside and inaccessible to hardware lymphatic drainage, and “pumps” the lymphatic system.

It is worth noting that the procedure is painless and there is no need for long-term treatment, which reduces the overall cost of the procedures and time spent.

Deep lymphatic drainage is also useful for weakened immunity, neuroses, headaches, poor sleep, swelling, frequent colds and unhealthy complexion. This is an exclusive procedure that can be performed once a week.

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After several sessions, patients note a state of lightness, elation, their mood and performance improve. Swelling and bags under the eyes gradually disappear, headaches go away, complexion improves, thanks to improved blood circulation, skin elasticity increases, and weight decreases. But the main thing is that all this is not a momentary improvement, but a new, stable state of the body.