The Berry Method of Manual Lymphatic Drainage

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Background Tension, Lymphatic Work, and the Core

One reason I keep returning to the muscles we work with in my Lower Back and Hips class is that their influence reaches far beyond movement and pain.

The trunk and pelvic region support breathing mechanics, abdominal pressure, posture, movement, and the muscular pumping that moves fluid through the body. Chronic protective tension in this region can change the environment in which both the lymphatic and digestive systems are trying to function.

That is why, when I am doing lymphatic work, I use a whole-body approach that includes musculoskeletal balance and digestion.

I am not simply focusing on the lymph.

Sometimes I can address the lymphatic system more directly once those underlying tensions and related components are more balanced.

Other times, I have to move back and forth through all three: musculoskeletal tension, digestive function, and lymphatic congestion, sometimes several times within the same session, before I begin to see meaningful change.

I also want to ask:

**What background tension is the body holding?**

If the lower back, hips, abdomen, and surrounding tissues remain guarded and restricted, I want to address that pattern as part of the work.

Recently, I have been working with an 86-year-old man whose movement had become increasingly difficult. I told him from the beginning that this would not be a quick fix. It took years for his body to arrive where it is, and it may take time to change.

By his third visit, both of us noticed that he was moving just a little more smoothly.

I have also noticed that some of the edema and swelling appears to have decreased. Not dramatically, but enough to catch my attention.

That does not mean that working these muscles is a treatment for edema. It does reinforce something I have believed for a long time:

When working with lymphatic congestion, it is useful to look beyond the fluid itself.

Breathing, movement, muscular tension, digestion, abdominal and pelvic mechanics, and the body's overall protective pattern are all part of the picture.

For me, addressing those background tensions has become an important part of lymphatic work.

Sometimes the most useful approach is not to stay with one system, but to move between systems that influence one another until the body begins to respond.

The Lower Back and Hips class is not currently scheduled, but the class page contains useful information about the muscles and relationships behind this approach:

https://www.musclemanagement.com/rebalancing-the-core-2026

And once again...my guarantee:

This approach will not work if you don't use it.

Interesting article. What catches my attention isn’t simply the idea that alcohol “causes cancer,” but what repeated alcohol use may do to the body. Alcohol can increase physical stress and inflammation while interfering with normal repair and recovery.

From a lymphatic perspective, that matters. The lymphatic system is part of how the body manages fluid balance, immune activity, and the movement of cellular waste and inflammatory byproducts. When the body is repeatedly dealing with inflammation, it creates a greater cleanup and regulatory burden.

One drink doesn’t equal cancer. But repeated stress, inflammation, and impaired recovery over time may matter more than many of us realize.

Just one drink a day may increase the risk of dying from numerous cancers Alcohol’s role in deaths from numerous cancers has increased over the past three decades, a new study found. It only takes one standard drink a day, every day.

Tinnitus.
I’m exploring tinnitus from a whole-body perspective, and I’m curious whether anyone else has noticed something similar.

I’ve begun thinking that, at least in some cases, tinnitus may not be simply an ear problem. It may reflect the ongoing conversation between the ears, the nervous system, and the body’s musculoskeletal balance.

Over the past few days, I’ve been experimenting with remedial movements involving the jaw, neck, shoulders, and upper thoracic spine. One morning after working through those areas, my tinnitus was noticeably quieter for most of the day. It returned later, which has me wondering whether regional muscular and fascial tension may be influencing what I’m hearing.

My working hypothesis is that, in some people, reducing tension and restoring better balance through the head, neck, jaw, shoulder girdle, and upper thorax may reduce the sensory input that contributes to tinnitus. I’m also curious whether improving that balance might even influence hearing itself, though I don’t know the answer to that.

I’m genuinely interested in learning.

Have you noticed your tinnitus changing with posture, jaw position, neck tension, massage, stretching, breathing, or movement?

If you’ve had an experience—positive or negative—or if you’ve come across research or ideas that you think are worth exploring, I’d love to hear about them.

https://youtu.be/tkKvGqV5R3Y?is=J0kJQ0j69D3ox0_5

Knee Workshop July 18-19, 2026 Tom Sayers of Muscle Mangement.com brings almost 50 years of experi...