Lymph Nodes: how can you help improve drainage

Ritesh Bawri

11 Jan 2026 — 2 min read

Photo by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases / Unsplash

Have you felt your armpits feel tender, or your abdomen feels sluggish after days of sitting? Your body might be trying to tell you something.

It is your lymphatic system.

If you have not heard about it, your lymphatic system is your internal waste disposal. But unlike your heart, it has no pump. It relies entirely on you.

Your movement. Your breath.

There are two critical collection points. The axillary nodes in your armpit filter lymph from your arms, chest. More than 75% of breast lymph drains directly here.

This is why stagnation in this region can lead to tenderness, swelling, and long term tissue congestion. Deeper in your body sits the cisterna chyli.

This sac-like structure near your lower spine collects lymph from everything below your diaphragm. Your legs. Your digestive organs. Your pelvis.

It feeds into the thoracic duct, your body's largest lymphatic vessel. When these drains slow, waste accumulates. Fluid pools. Inflammation builds.

So what can you do?

The first thing is movement. Research shows active exercise increases lymph clearance by three to six times compared to rest. Every muscle contraction squeezes lymphatic vessels, propelling fluid forward.

Next consider breathing. Slowing your breathing creates pressure changes that draw lymph through your chest and abdomen.

Next consider tapping. Gentle tapping above your collarbones activates lymph capillaries beneath the skin.

Finally massages. Light circular massage in your armpits clears the axillary nodes. Deep diaphragmatic breathing stimulates the cisterna chyli.

For women this is extremely important.

Breast tissue contains no muscle. Without external movement, lymph becomes stagnant. Tight clothing, sedentary days, and shallow breathing compound the problem.

Regular lymphatic self-care isn't vanity. It is maintenance.

Eliminating waste from your lymphatic system needs a little push every once in a while. Don't make expensive treatment your default when a simple massage will do.

Reach out to me on twitter @rbawri Instagram @riteshbawriofficial and YouTube at www.youtube.com/breatheagain

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