Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) is a gentle but specialised form of massage technique to stimulate the circulation of lymphatic fluid in the affected area.
There are a lot of MLD methods like Casely-Smith, Fӧldi, Vodder or Leduc which are helpful in reducing the swelling effectively.
form of massage technique to stimulate the circulation of lymphatic fluid in the affected area.
There are a lot of MLD methods like Casely-Smith, Fӧldi, Vodder or Leduc which are helpful in reducing the swelling effectively.
Manual lymph drainage have also been shown to have helped edema patients after total knee replacement surgery and are fit for people of all ages post-surgeries.
It works on the principle of enhancing the body-fluid dynamics which flushes the toxins out of the body by increasing the lymph circulation.
What most patients don’t know is that these MLD programs should be performed by licensed lymphedema therapists only who are trained and certified in at least one of these which is advised by the Macmillan Cancer Support (UK).
A usual MLD course can extend up to three weeks or beyond and can be performed after every three months or once a year.
Patients have an option to get the manual lymph drainage done every day for an hour or three times a week, depending on their preference and/or the severity of their conditions.
The best person to decide your schedule would be your lymphedema specialist or therapist. If however you are one of those do-it-yourself person then you can go for the self-massage technique called the Simple Lymphatic Drainage (SLD).
The benefits of self-massage have already been mentioned in our previous post about Lymph Drainage. Besides, simple lymphatic drainage is your regular massage that you might be familiar with already.
Yet as always, you are advised to seek a consultation with your lymphedema specialist to know what works best for you.
A one-size-fits-all approach would not give the desired results and may complicate your problem further. For example, if you are a heart patient or have cellulitis (infection) in the swollen area, then MLD or SLD is not advisable for you.
However, the good news is that you can ask one of your loved ones to accompany you for an SLD session so that they can also learn how to give a proper SLD in times of need. Who doesn’t like a supportive and friendly ‘helping’ hand?!
Here’s an overview of the preparatory steps in the manual lymph drainage session :
1.) Breathing – yes you read it right and that too deep breathing. Each MLD program begins with breathing exercises to energize your body as well as oxygenate your affected tissues for good results.
2.) Use of lymphedema compression garments or bandaging – these are combined with MLD to maintain the improvements. Even in areas where it is difficult to use them like neck or head MLD can be used effectively.
3.) Lying down and removing few clothes – barring those who have head or neck lymphedema, others may be required to lie down.
Last but not the least –
4.) Stimulating the unaffected lymph nodes – the MLD Therapist would first activate the unaffected lymph nodes by putting gentle and mild pressure along with rhythmical and slow movements.
These preparatory steps of the manual lymph drainage techniques would lead to the proper manual lymph drainage technique mentioned in the beginning. Visit our lymphedema compression garmentsproduct range today and reap the benefits of MLD.