Lymphedema Management in Women’s Health Physical Therapy

This post was written by Debora Chassé DPT, WCS, CLT-LANA, who teaches the course Lymphatic Drainage for Pelvic Pain. You can catch Debbie teaching this course in April in Arizona.

Lymphedema Management in Women’s Health Physical Therapy is a home study module developed for the physical therapist who would like to learn more about lymphedema as well as prepare for the lymphedema portion of Women’s Health Clinical Specialist exam. Complete Decongestive Therapy (CDT) has been used universally to treat lymphedema since the 1800’s. The well-known Foldi Clinic is located in Germany and in the 1990’s CDT was brought to America to train practitioners. You will learn about the anatomy and physiology of the lymphatic system, lymphedema diagnoses, differential diagnoses and the phases and steps involved in CDT. The course manual takes you through the physical therapy initial evaluation for lymphedema following the guidelines for specialty practice. It also contains many case studies designed to enhance your application of CDT. CDT has many concepts and procedures that will additionally help patients with inflammation, autoimmune disorders and pain. It is a must for all physical therapist.

Do you need another tool for treating pelvic pain and pelvic congestion? Manual lymph drainage for Pelvic Pain is a two-day intermediate course that covers the lymphatic system, lymphedema, pelvic pain, manual lymphatic drainage (MLD), and how this procedure is used to reduce inflammation and pelvic pain. The course will reveal the relationship between lymph flow and pelvic pain. Research shows that manual lymph drainage increases venous flow. In one case study, researchers found that using MLD on a patient with pelvic congestion decreased the patient’s symptoms, impairments and pain by 50% following 5 consecutive days of MLD. Another case study reported that a chronic pelvic pain patient had both an increase in energy level and a 50% decrease in abdominal inflammation and pelvic pain. Manual Lymphatic Drainage for Pelvic Pain is a procedure developed by Debora Chassé using MLD techniques on the vulva and in the vaginal vault to stimulate the lymphatics in the vagina to return lymph fluid to the circulatory system. This is a low risk treatment with outstanding outcomes for all pelvic pain diagnoses. This course is an excellent adjunct for clinicians interested in learning how to evaluate the lymphatic function, design an MLD treatment plan and master MLD treatment strokes for pelvic pain patients.

Join Debbie this April!