Can Poor Posture Affect Your Lymphatic System?

Can poor posture affect the lymphatic system and how can you correct it?

With the colder weather and downpours becoming more frequent, now is an important time to be thinking about your lymphatic system if you haven’t already been doing so.

Our lymphatic system gives us immunity against pathogens that try to invade our body. The issue with this very important function though is that it doesn’t have its own pumping mechanism like the circulatory system. This means that lymph relies on other mechanisms to help get it moving. However if we are spending time in one position, especially sedentary, we are making it even harder for the lymph to move around.

What are easy ways to help stimulate my lymphatic system?

The typical things that we all know like getting up and taking regular breaks from being in one position as well as bringing your screen up to eye level will help. Movement is important with ideally some kind of walk, cycle or run but also moving the areas that have been fixed in one position will help. With regards to the upper body, I’ve found opening up the shoulders and moving the muscles in between the shoulder blades followed by some deep breathing exercises to be the easiest to incorporate into my daily routine.

Other ways to boost your lymphatic system
Hot and cold therapy – vasodilation and vasoconstriction of the muscles can help to stimulate lymph nodes and encourage movement, this can be done through hot and cold showers at home or sauna and ice plunges at the gym or spa.
Dry brushing – like with hot and cold therapy, this helps to stimulate lymph nodes that lay superficially under the skin.
Ease tension – tight muscles and fascia can have a negative impact on circulation. You can remedy this with massage, foam rolling and stretching.