On this website we promote a holistic approach to healthy skin. It is a lifestyle consisting of healthy eating, keeping your gut flora healthy, keeping your skin flora happy, spending time outdoors, taking cold showers, and cold exposure in general. One important habit that we did not discuss yet is regular exercise. It might sound obvious, but daily movement is extremely important for a healthy body. Today we’ll discuss why it is especially important for people who are trying to heal their skin.
The lymphatic system
The lymphatic system is the system that benefits most directly from daily movement. It consists of narrow tubes called lymphatic vessels, which collect and transport lymph fluid. The fluid flows through the lymph nodes, which contain immune cells specialized in making abnormal cells and other harmful substances harmless.
Eventually, the lymph fluid goes back into the blood stream and the kidneys filter out the waste and pass it out into the urine.
The lymphatic system is really part of the immune system. It is part of how your body recognizes and attacks abnormal cells that have mutations that can progress to cancer if left unchecked.
Edward Chang, M.D., MD Anderson surgeon who treats cancer patients who develop problems with their lymphatic system after treatment
The lymphatic system even has the power to prevent cancer. This shows just how important this (under-rated) system is for our health. Let’s see now, how it can be boosted by exercise.
How does exercise help your lymphatic system?
The lymphatic system has no pump, like the heart, which pumps the blood. The lymph is pumped by contracting your muscles. This stimulates the lymphatic flow. As a result, the elimination pathways of the body are working properly and any toxins can be quickly eliminated. This is especially important for people with skin disease, since it is well known that skin issues are often associated with a higher level of toxicity in the body.
Walking, running, swimming, bike riding, yoga, stretching and strength training are great ways to keep the lymph flowing. Dancing with lots of up and down movement or rebounding is particularly helpful because the vertical motion of exercise opens and closes the one way valves that comprise of the lymphatic system and can increase lymph flow by up to 15-30 times.
Lynne Gillogly, Massage Therapist (source)
Any exercise is helpful for the lymphatic system. Exercise under water is especially helpful because of the pressure from the water.
Sarah Cleveland, MD Anderson Senior Physical Therapist
Evidence from eczema and psoriasis patients
The lymph can also be moved by massaging the body. This procedure is called manual lymphatic drainage (MLD). Here is a story from MLD therapist who used lymphatic drainage to improve eczema and psoriasis.
As part of my work, I have treated lymphoedema clients who also have eczema or psoriasis, which can exacerbate the swelling. Having noticed good outcomes for these skin conditions, I have started to treat people with genetic eczema or psoriasis who do not have lymphoedema. Many of my clients have commented that they are able to sleep
Teresa McEleney, Lymphoedema MLD Therapist from The Movement Clinic in Melbourne, Australia (source)
without constant itching, to reduce their medication, and that treatment has had overall positive physical and psychological benefits. This I interpret as indicating that people with inflammatory dermal conditions appear to be benefiting from MLD. However it would seem more research is needed to explore the stages of inflammation and the
impact of MLD, alone and with medications that are normally used, to see what combination is best for optimal outcomes for these skin conditions.
I believe this is an exciting area with the potential to identify natural treatments that could assist in the management of eczema and psoriasis problems. It may be that a poorly functioning lymphatic system (perhaps with a genetic component to it) and corresponding increase in local inflammatory mediators (and concomitant local area swelling) could be an underlying cause of genetic and other forms of eczema and psoriasis. Logically, as MLD helps move the fluid from the inflamed area, this could be the most reasonable explanation for the reduction in inflammation.
Takeaway message for seborrheic dermatitis sufferers
Regular exercise pumps the lymph, and that is essential for toxin elimination. Healthy skin requires the elimination pathways of the body to be in top condition. This explains the link between daily movement and healthy skin. Eczema and psoriasis are more systemic conditions and often affect larger areas of skin than seborrheic dermatitis. Therefore, the effects of a top-conditioned (un-clogged) lymphatic system are more evident in improving these two conditions. However, similar positive effects are expected for seborrheic dermatitis.
