CORTLAND, Ohio - After Margaret Scott had open heart surgery, she suffered a painful side effect.

"I had a lump, kind of like another head growing out of my shoulder," Scott said.

To reduce the swelling, doctors suggested a manual lymph drainage massage.

"It consists of circular and diagonal movements..and it's pressure and then no pressure, and it has to be very light and rythmic," explained Donnagene Palmer, of The Professional Touch Massage Therapy and Spa Center in Cortland, Ohio.

The gentle movements have been proven to stimulate the lymphatic system to remove congestion in the body. They've also been known to relieve pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Because there are lymph nodes throughout the whole body, it's a whole-body treatment.  It takes 90 minutes.  But manual lymph drainage is not for everyone.

"If a client is in the process of chemotherapy or radiation, we would wait until all of those treatments are over," explained Plamer. "It wouldn't work for clients who have congestive heart failure either, because this would propel the lymph fluid at 20 times the normal rate and that would tax the heart too much."

For clients like Margaret Scott, the little movements can make a big difference.  "It's been like a miracle!" she said.

Manual Lymph Drainage treatments cost $62.50 per session.

For more information, call the Professional Touch Massage Therapy and Spa Center at 330.637.7763.