Heavy or swollen legs?

Manual lymphatic drainage is a manual therapy with a wide range of effects. In medicine, it is primarily used as edema and decongestive therapy for swollen body regions, such as the torso and extremities (arms and legs), which can occur, for example, after abdominal and/or breast cancer surgery.

Through gentle, circular, and rhythmic skin displacement, the activity of the lymphatic system (lymphatic motility) is increased, thus removing excess fluid from the tissue. Manual lymphatic drainage primarily affects the connective tissue and does not lead to hyperemia (increased blood flow) as in classical massage.

This form of manual therapy is highly effective in pain management, as well as before and after surgery, and serves to decongest swollen tissue overloaded with interstitial fluid. The patient experiences significant relief, the need for pain medication can be reduced, and the healing process is accelerated.

In cases of pronounced lymphatic diseases (congestion), this therapy is combined with compression bandages, skin care and special exercise therapy and summarized under the term Complex Decongestive Therapy (CDT).

Other indications include:

• secondary lymphedema following surgical tumor removal with lymph node dissection or radiation therapy,
• Primary lymphedema whose cause is unknown, e.g., congenital hypoplasia (too few lymphatic vessels) or hyperplasia (enlargement of the lymphatic vessels).
• Edema resulting from injuries or surgeries,
• Orthopedic or traumatological conditions that are accompanied by swelling of the connective tissue
• Lipedema, migraine, Sudeck's atrophy, trigeminal neuralgia, pregnancy edema,
• chronic venous insufficiency
• after cosmetic surgery.
• Lymphatic drainage after aesthetic or plastic surgery

Here, too, decongesting the connective tissue through lymphatic drainage, even before the planned surgery, improves the tissue's ability to heal. Lymphatic drainage performed after the procedure helps to resolve the inevitable hematomas much more quickly. Excess tissue fluid from swelling is also removed more rapidly, and scar formation is improved. Scars appear less visible, flatter, and softer – tension eases more quickly, and adhesions between the individual tissue layers are avoided. It is important to continue the treatment over a longer period.

Lymphatic drainage during/after pregnancy
The benefits of professionally performed lymphatic drainage during pregnancy are far too little known and appreciated. The main focus is certainly on preventing or slowing the formation of edema, which affects a large number of pregnant women. Furthermore, regular lymphatic drainage counteracts the development of varicose veins and stretch marks. Treatments can generally be carried out from the fourth month of pregnancy and even after childbirth, always in consultation with the attending gynecologist.