Medically reviewed by Dr Tapan Patel
Last reviewed: 22nd February 2026
What is a lymphatic drainage massage?
This massage is different to other massages by targeting and relieving swelling that happens when medical treatments or illness block your lymphatic system, making you feel ‘sluggish’ and in some cases bloated.
Lymphatic drainage massage encourages the drainage of lymph nodes and movement of lymph fluids around the body through a gentle massage. It is vital that the lymphatic system remains healthy and efficient as this plays a vital role in the body's immune defences.
Lymphatic drainage massage London with Body Ballancer
What is Body Ballancer?
Body Ballancer bodysuit uses patent protected inflating compression garments that apply a gentle or firm pressure in the form of a massage, to apply fluent compression strokes to the body in order to target the treated area.
The flow from the base of the limb to the torso, accelerates the removal of waste products and excess fluid through the lymphatic system. This treatment is available at our London Clinic.
Lymphatic drainage benefits
A lymphatic drainage massage benefits both health and wellbeing for the body’s lymphatic system.
Health:
- Aiding the immune system. The lymphatic system assists the immune system by extracting waste, cell debris, and other toxins from the body tissues, while also destroying any bacteria and viruses discovered during this cleansing process.
- Body Ballancer facilitates the absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins from the digestive system, guaranteeing that these vital nutrients are transported to all cells throughout the body via the bloodstream.
- Eliminating water retention by removing excess fluid, thereby reducing discomforting swelling and puffiness that can come from water retention.
Wellbeing: - Cellulite and skin tone. By increasing the flow of fresh, oxygenated blood to the tissues this can result in seeing a significant improvement in cellulite and the quality of the skin.
- Body sculpting. By targeting swelling and bloating, the lymphatic and circulatory systems can thereby eliminate excess fluid and puffiness in a single Body Ballancer treatment.
Safe and effective treatment
Your safety is our top priority and making our patients feel welcomed and reassured when entering PHI Clinic. To ensure maximum standard of patient care, all of our treatments are only ever carried out by our experienced and highly qualified team, who receive regular in-house and external training from industry experts.
At PHI Clinic we do not offer same day treatment as initial consultation to ensure patients have time to reflect on their bespoke treatment plan before choosing to proceed.
What is lymphatic drainage and does lymphatic drainage work?
This is a specialised medical massage aimed to help treat lymphedema which happens when the lymphatic fluid collects in certain areas of the body because it struggles to drain away.
PHI Clinic’s Body Ballancer treatment aims to improve the flow of lymph fluid in order to reduce swelling in targeted areas. The device works to massage an area without swelling in order to make room for fluid to flow swiftly, to reach the congested areas.
What is lymphatic fluid?
Lymphatic fluid plays a key role in unblocking your lymphatic system. The fluid works to remove toxins and waste from the body's tissues as some health conditions may cause a build up in the system for instance lymphedema and fibromyalgia.
The lymphatic fluid flows through the lymph vessels which connect the lymph nodes. As the fluid passes through the lymph nodes, white blood cells trap and eliminate harmful particles for instance bacteria.
How does the lymphatic system work?
The extensive lymphatic system in your body is comparable to the blood circulatory system, as it serves nearly every cell throughout your entire body. Lymph vessels are interconnected like a string of pearls, and they contain lymph nodes that act as filters, which you can sometimes feel in your neck or under your arm when you're unwell. As lymph fluid passes through these nodes, it gets purified as toxins and impurities are removed from the body.
The lymphatic system relies on muscle movement, deep breathing, and sometimes manual manipulation or lymphatic drainage machines (Body Ballancer) to move the fluid.
When the lymphatic system becomes blocked or overwhelmed due to illness or lack of activity, lymph fluid can accumulate, resulting in issues such as swelling, cellulite, joint pain, and sickness.
What are the symptoms of poor lymphatic drainage?
- Stress
- Poor diet
- A less active lifestyle
These factors are a contributing factor that prevents lymphatic fluid from moving through the body, causing a ‘build up’ or congestion in particular areas of the body. If left unmanaged for too long this can lead to swelling and bloating, cellulite, joint pain and fatigue. In some extreme cases, if left untreated, this can knock into your immune system by putting your body at risk of serious diseases.
Back Lymphatic drainage massage frequently asked questions
Body Ballancer treatment is suitable for those feeling sluggish, with digestive concerns or atheletes need a lymphatic drainage massage for recovery.
This massage targets the lower part of the body from the torso down to the feet, to circulate and decongest this particular areas of the body.
At PHI Clinic we have the Body Ballancer pants that treat; lower abdomen, buttocks, hips, thighs, and the lower leg.
There is minimal discomfort from treatment with some patients suggesting they find treatment relaxing and opt to add Body Ballancer onto their facial treatments. Treatment is non-invasive and its gentle, rhythmic action also promotes relaxation.
With this massage, a therapist is usually working on the muscles, and will often need to use deep massage techniques to reach the muscular layer. Lymphatic drainage massage however, targets the lymphatic vessels and nodes that sit just below the skin, which only requires a very light layer of pressure to move the fluid through.
The lymphatic drainage massager is good for reducing the appearance of cellulite, improving skin tone and reducing volume in areas of the body that have excessive fluid retention. The device not only benefits the external appearance of selected areas but internal health also. The massage motion circulates in a particular direction to increase circulation and decongest particular areas of the body such as the hips, thighs and buttocks.
This will depend on why you are looking to have Body Ballancer treatment. To reduce bloating and puffiness caused by water retention, you can enjoy noticeable results after one treatment. But to reduce cellulite or improve skin tone, you’ll probably require a course of treatments. We typically recommend multiple sessions, but this will be discussed with your clinicians during your consultation.
After Body Ballancer treatment it is important to maintain a healthy lymphatic system and can be done by implementing a balanced diet (including healthy fats), regular exercise and avoiding toxins such as alcohol, pollution and smoking.
Symptoms can include:
- Swelling around areas of the body, including hands, arms, legs, feet, chest, breast, shoulder, face and groin (if concerned about any of these swollen areas, please seek medical advice from your GP)
- Pain and changes in sensation
- The feeling of heaviness and bloating
Compression therapy ultilises specifically crafted garments that gently inflate to predetermined pressures in order to deliver an advanced form of lymphatic drainage massage.
This is typically done by a specialised masseuse by using hand movements on the services of the skin to help move fluid around the body.
At PHI Clinic, some patients either have Body Ballancer on their own or alongside their facial treatments. Patient will get zipped up into the Body Ballancer Pro Pants and recline back on the treatment couch. Our clinical team will switch on the device from a computerised air-compression device that’s programmed to apply the right amount of pressure. The gradual and gentle inflation of the treatment will provide a smooth, flowing massage over the treated area and once complete the garment will automatically deflate.
Comfortable clothing is recommended such as leggings with shocks as we advise no bare skin in the garments for hygiene purposes.
If you are experiencing any of the below, then we would not recommend Body Ballancer.
- Pain or numbness that has not been checked over by your doctor or GP beforehand
- Ischemic vascular disease
- Uncontrolled congestive heart failure or unstable cardiac disease.
- Known or suspected deep-vein thrombosis that has not been checked over by your doctor or GP beforehand
- Infected skin or an infected open wound on or around the treatment area
No downtime is required for treatment and patients can resume back to daily activities after treatment. In particular cases our therapists may recommend appropriate aftercare to maintain results.
Treatment is approximately 30-60 minutes
Here at PHI Clinic our on-hand team of therapists are here to walk you through your body ballancer treatment and answer any questions or address any concerns you may have.
Location
PHI Clinic
102 Harley Street,
London,
W1G 7JB,
United Kingdom
Tel: 02070345999
Opening Hours
Monday & Tuesday - 9:30am to 6:00pm
Wednesday & Thursday - 9:30am to 8:00pm
Friday - 9:30am to 5:00pm
Saturday - 11:30am to 12:30pm
Sunday - Closed
Opening times can change, if your appointment is outside of these times please contact the clinic for confirmation.
