Massage near San Mateo: 4 of our 8 services are lymphatic

Cleveland Clinic calls it a gentle form of massage used to relieve the inflammation of lymphedema, worked at light pressure for the whole 60 minutes rather than at the depth that reaches muscle.

The National Cancer Institute describes manual lymphatic drainage as gentle massage that helps move lymph fluid through the body, and as one component of complete decongestive therapy: a program run by a certified lymphedema therapist alongside bandaging, exercise and skin care.

Slow, repetitive strokes at skin level. No elbows, no thumbs tracking down either side of the spine. If your reference point is a firm 60 minute session, the opening 10 minutes of a lymphatic hour will feel close to nothing, and that is the technique working as designed.

MedlinePlus defines lymphedema as swelling that happens when lymph builds up in the body's soft tissues, and names 4 causes: infection, cancer, scar tissue from radiation or the surgical removal of lymph nodes, and inherited conditions. Its treatment list has 4 entries, and massage is one of them, alongside exercise, compression devices and skin care.

A diagnosed case belongs with a certified lymphedema therapist rather than with a 75 minute spa booking. Most people booking a lymphatic session here do not have lymphedema; they book it because they felt puffy after a flight, or because they wanted a gentler hour than deep tissue.

Cleveland Clinic names 8 conditions that rule the technique out: blood clots, cellulitis, deep vein thrombosis, fever, heart disease, infection, kidney failure and stroke. It adds 2 areas providers will not work directly over, cancerous tissue and skin damaged by radiation therapy. If one of those describes you, the next step is a conversation with your doctor, not a judgement call at the front desk.

If a clinician has already diagnosed you with lymphedema, the treatment for it is complete decongestive therapy: manual lymphatic drainage delivered by a certified lymphedema therapist alongside compression bandaging, exercise and skin care. A $129 session here is not that, and booking one is not a substitute for the referral.

Post-surgical drainage is why a lot of people go looking for this, usually a few weeks after a cosmetic procedure. Two questions belong with your surgeon first: whether the incisions have healed far enough, and how many weeks they want you to wait. A 75 minute session at $149 is a spa massage, and we cannot clear anyone for aftercare.

Pregnancy has its own line on the menu. NCCIH rates the risk of harmful effects from massage as low, while naming 3 rare but serious reports on record: blood clots, nerve injury and bone fracture. That is a reason to book Prenatal Massage at $119 for 60 minutes rather than a lymphatic session, and to ask your own doctor or midwife before either one.

The names overlap enough to be genuinely confusing, so here is the menu laid flat. Prices and durations come straight from the Square catalog, and the only discounted line is Lymphatic Drainage + Lymphatic Facial at $189 against a regular $209.

One row needs a footnote. Square's own description of Massage + Lymphatic Facial opens with a 60-minute Deep Tissue or Swedish Massage and only then the lymphatic facial, so that booking runs at two pressures: an ordinary massage at whatever pressure you ask for, followed by light facial work. The other 3 are light-pressure end to end.

Lymphatic Drainage + Lymphatic Facial and Massage + Lymphatic Facial are both $189 for 90 minutes. The whole difference sits in the first hour: 60 minutes of full-body drainage in one, 60 minutes of conventional massage in the other. The 30 minute facial that closes them is the same either way.

The 60 minute Lymphatic Drainage at $129 is the usual starting point, and it is the shortest way to find out whether you like the technique at all. The 4 options sort themselves once you have answered two questions: how much time the day has in it, and whether you want the facial.

The most expensive line is not the most thorough one. Brazilian Lymphatic Sculpting Massage is $229 for 75 minutes, which makes it the priciest lymphatic booking on the menu, and it is the only one of the 4 with no facial attached and no shorter version to try first.

The address is 1658 El Camino Real, San Carlos, CA 94070, about 10 minutes down El Camino Real from downtown San Mateo depending on the hour you set off. Street parking in front of the studio is free. The door reads By Appointment, Walk-ins Welcome, and both halves of that are true.

We are open 10 AM to 9 PM every day, which puts a 75 minute session inside a Saturday morning or a Tuesday evening equally well. Booking runs through Square and the phone is (650) 622-8666. The services page lists all 8 services with their lengths and prices, and the contact page carries the map and the weekly hours.