What is your lymphatic system and why should you care?
Written By: Lydia Dant, MPH, CPT
Many people are familiar with their lymph nodes, particularly if they become swollen during illness. But many of us don’t know much about our lymphatic system beyond that. What is it, and what does it do for us?
Your lymphatic system includes: a series of tubes (similar to your veins) called lymphatic vessels, your lymph nodes, appendix, spleen, thymus, tonsils, adenoids, and your bone marrow.
After blood circulates through your arteries, it reaches your capillaries where oxygen and nutrients are delivered to your cells. Some plasma (about 3 of your 20 liters) is left behind in the tissue, while the rest is returned to your heart and lungs in your veins. Your lymphatic vessels collect this fluid and return it back to your blood. Without this critical function, your plasma would pool in your tissue causing severe swelling, also known as lymphedema.
Lymphatic Vessels
Without your lymphatic system, your plasma would pool in your tissue causing severe swelling, also known as lymphedema.
The lymphatic system has several jobs:
Return fluid to your bloodstream from the body to prevent swelling (as we discussed above)
Collect fat and proteins from your intestines and return them to the bloodstream
Produce and transport white blood cells as part of your immune system
Remove waste, toxins, and abnormal cells
So, although we don’t often hear much about it, the lymphatic system plays a very important role in keeping us healthy!
How do Power Plate and Bemer affect our lymphatic system?
Power Plate vibration has been shown to increase circulation in the body, which includes lymph fluid. This means more waste removal, less fluid retention in your tissues (less swelling), and improved transportation of white blood cells throughout your body.
Lymphatic drainage before and after vibration as viewed by thermal imaging. Image from Lifetime Vibe.
Unlike our blood, lymphatic fluid does not get pumped through our body by the heart. It relies on muscle movement to contract the lymph vessels and move fluid against gravity back to our bloodstream. With whole body vibration, your muscles are contracting 30-50 times per second, allowing lymph to return to your blood much more rapidly than normal. One review of 84 studies looking at whole body vibration reported that “These studies have reported from 50-100% increase in peripheral circulation by standing WBV [whole body vibration] and a 40% increase in lymphatic drainage. (1)”
“These studies have reported...a 40% increase in lymphatic drainage [with the use of whole body vibration/Power Plate]”
The Bemer improves circulation at the capillary level, which is where plasma from the blood is moved into your tissue and then picked up by your lymph system. Check out how the Bemer works in the video below.
REFERENCES
(1) Olafsson, Stefan. Hawkey, Adam. Good Vibrations: The use of whole body vibration in rehabilitation. https://pure.solent.ac.uk/ws/files/10083633/Olafson_and_Hawkey_Good_vibration.pdf. Accessed March 1, 2023.
The Cleveland Clinic: The Lymphatic System. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/21199-lymphatic-system. Accessed March 1, 2023.
Lymphatic Drainage and Whole Body Vibration. Lifetime Vibe: Health in Motion. https://lifetimevibe.com/lymphatic-system-vibration-machine/. Accessed March 1, 2023.
