Lymphatic drainage by pressotherapy at The Peninsula Manila, Makati: what the session involves, who it suits, who should not book, and how it compares.
ICONIQUE inside The Peninsula Manila offers lymphatic drainage as pressotherapy. You lie back in a garment with air chambers that inflate and deflate in sequence, pressing and releasing to support drainage and circulation. A session takes 45 to 60 minutes, consultation included, on ICONIQUE's own devices. Our clinic does not perform manual lymphatic drainage massage, so if you want a therapist's hands on you, read the comparison further down before you choose. You will find us on the lobby level of The Peninsula Manila, on the corner of Ayala and Makati Avenues, four minutes on foot from Ayala Triangle. You can book lymphatic drainage at The Peninsula online.
What happens in a pressotherapy session
The session opens with a consultation. Tell the therapist about any condition on the list further down, any swelling in one leg, and whether you are pregnant.
Then you lie back in the garment. Its air chambers inflate one after another and then deflate, and the cycle repeats, so you feel the pressure move along the garment and ease off. The treatment is relaxing, and it suits every body type.
The devices in the research worked the same way. In a 2021 trial of 20 adults who stand at work, each chamber filled only once the one before it had reached its set pressure. Each participant set that pressure between 90 and 130 mmHg, at a level that did not hurt, and nobody in the trial had a side effect. If the pressure hurts at any point, tell the therapist. Doctors count pain during the treatment as a reason to stop it.
What it does, with the numbers
Pressotherapy moves fluid that has pooled in the tissue. Two Korean trials measured it on healthy people with tired, swollen legs after work:
- 20 adults, most of them nurses, 30 minutes lying down after a shift. Plain rest took 95 mL off the volume of the right leg. Compression took 133 mL. The researchers judged the gap in volume too small to call real. Leg pain and calf measurements improved more with compression than with rest. After a further 30 minutes of rest, the leg had lost 201 mL in the compression group and 179 mL in the rest group, so lying with your legs level does much of the work on its own.
- 39 teachers, cashiers and health workers who stand over 8 hours a day, 60 minutes of compression after work. Their leg pain dropped by 1.9 points on a scale of 0 to 10. On the days they wore compression stockings at work, the researchers measured no swelling during the shift.
Expect lighter, less achy legs in the hour after a session, which is as far as the trials measured. The fluid returns after your next long shift on your feet. Pressotherapy does not burn fat or reduce your weight. It does not "detox" you either: your liver and kidneys clear waste from the body, and lymph carries fluid.
Who it suits
- You stand or sit for long hours. Shop staff, nurses, office workers on back-to-back calls and anyone with a long commute through EDSA know the tight shoes and sock marks at 6 pm. Both trials tested people who stand at work.
- You feel puffy in the heat or around your period. Our article on water retention in the face and legs explains why both happen and when the bloating peaks.
- You want an hour lying still. The treatment is relaxing and suits every body type.
Who should not book without a doctor's clearance
Leg compression pushes blood and fluid from your legs toward your chest. An international consensus on compression risks records the effects: extra load on a weak heart, and bacteria spreading from an infected area. A German medical encyclopedia lists the conditions that rule out intermittent pneumatic compression altogether. Do not book if any of these apply to you, unless a doctor has cleared you:
- A blood clot in a leg (deep vein thrombosis), or the signs of one. One leg swollen, painful, red or warm needs a doctor the same day, as the NHS advises, before any compression.
- Heart failure, a recent heart attack, or swelling caused by heart or kidney disease. Fluid that the heart or kidneys cannot clear needs medical treatment.
- An infection. A hot, red, spreading patch of skin such as cellulitis, or a fever.
- Pregnancy. The trials above excluded pregnant and breastfeeding women, so they tell you nothing about safety in pregnancy. Ask your OB-GYN first.
- A fresh injury to the leg.
- Cancer, or lymphoedema after cancer treatment. A lymphoedema therapist working with your oncologist should manage that swelling.
If you are unsure about any of these, ask your doctor before you book.
Pressotherapy or manual lymphatic drainage massage
Most of the Manila spas on Google's first page for lymphatic drainage sell a manual massage: a therapist moves the skin with light, rhythmic strokes toward the lymph nodes. At The Peninsula we use a machine.
| Pressotherapy at ICONIQUE Peninsula | Manual lymphatic drainage massage | |
|---|---|---|
| Who applies the pressure | An air-chamber garment on ICONIQUE's own device | A therapist's hands |
| At The Peninsula | 45 to 60 minutes, consultation included | Not offered at our clinic |
| Trials in healthy people with tired legs | Two, 20 and 39 workers | None in the sources we read |
The strongest evidence for manual drainage comes from patients with lymphoedema after breast cancer. A Cochrane review found that adding it to compression bandaging took off a further 7.11% of excess arm volume, across two trials and 83 women. In one small trial of 24 patients, all wearing a compression sleeve, manual drainage removed 47 mL more than a pneumatic pump. Those patients had lymphoedema and were under medical care. The trials on healthy people with heavy legs tested the machine.
Choose a manual therapist if you want hands-on work or your doctor has referred you for lymphoedema; for lymphoedema, that should be a certified lymphoedema therapist. Choose pressotherapy if your legs feel heavy after work and you want to lie still for an hour. Our full comparison of lymphatic drainage massage and pressotherapy goes through both in detail.
Finding us
ICONIQUE Revolutionary Beauty sits on the lobby level of The Peninsula Manila, at the corner of Ayala and Makati Avenues in Makati. From Ayala Triangle it is a four-minute walk. Plan on 45 to 60 minutes, consultation included, and check today's price and open times on the booking page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer lymphatic drainage massage in Makati?
We offer lymphatic drainage as pressotherapy at The Peninsula Manila, corner of Ayala and Makati Avenues. An air-chamber garment does the work. Our clinic does not offer manual lymphatic drainage massage.
How long is a pressotherapy session?
45 to 60 minutes, including the consultation.
Will pressotherapy help me lose weight?
No. It moves fluid that has pooled in the tissue. In a trial of 20 standing workers, 30 minutes of compression took 133 mL off one leg, against 95 mL for 30 minutes of plain rest. That fluid returns after your next long day on your feet. Fat and body weight stay the same.
Does pressotherapy hurt?
You feel pressure that comes and goes as the chambers inflate and deflate, and the treatment is relaxing. In the 2021 trial, participants chose a pressure between 90 and 130 mmHg that did not hurt, and nobody reported a side effect.
Who should not have pressotherapy?
Skip it without a doctor's clearance if you have a blood clot or the signs of one, heart failure, swelling from heart or kidney disease, an infection or fever, a fresh leg injury, cancer, or if you are pregnant.
How much does lymphatic drainage cost at The Peninsula?
The booking page shows today's price and the open times at The Peninsula Manila.
Written by
Geralyn RamosSenior Therapist · Six years in skin and aesthetics
Geralyn has worked in skin and aesthetics for six years, more than a year of it at ICONIQUE inside The Peninsula Manila. She performs the diamond peel, the EyeLift360 eye treatment, the Acne Clear Facial and underarm whitening at the Makati branch.
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