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Another disappointing SR that fails to tell us anything new 😖
Systematic reviews are an academic exercise to ‘systemically review’ the existing literature on a particular research question. They are ...

Jan Douglass PhD
Nov 11, 20214 min read


My 10 favourite facts about MLD
explain the scientific basis of the effects of MLD, the specific tissue or system effects achieved by individual techniques, and the expecte

Jan Douglass PhD
Oct 17, 20215 min read


Does MLD make you sick?
A long time ago I made the mistake of watching some YouTube videos purporting to teach Dr Vodder's MLD. Some of them would have made great how-not-to-videos for the classroom, and I was quite disturbed by the number of chats claiming that you should feel nauseous or ill somehow after lymph drainage. There was even an insistence in some comments that it hasn't worked unless you feel dreadful. This is the exact opposite of what I have learned and observed in nearly 25 years of

Jan Douglass PhD
Sep 12, 20214 min read


How do new discoveries in lymphology influence our clinical practice?
Across two decades of teaching therapists how to interact with lymphatics through MLD and Lymph Taping, I have witnessed an explosion in research on lymphatic function and disease. Some observed truths have been completely reversed, like the advice around exercise for people affected by lymphedema. Once it was shown that any post-exercise swelling is temporary, and that overall people who exercise have better lymphedema outcomes than those who don't, our advice did a big 180

Jan Douglass PhD
Aug 19, 20213 min read


Lymphatic endothelial cells, so much more to know!
The study looked at how the lymphatic endothelia cells behave when there is tissue hypoxia, so there are three interesting things here. How

Jan Douglass PhD
Jul 21, 20214 min read


Lymphatic therapy for exercise and injury recovery among athletes
The main difference between the three lymphatic therapies was in the rate of removal of lactic acid, which was more effective in the group r

Jan Douglass PhD
Jun 21, 20215 min read


MLD for post-COVID symptoms and the ?forgotten? intercostal pathways
Intensive drainage of the intercostal pathways are used during MLD for upper torso and arm lymphoedema, and along with the bronchitis techni

Jan Douglass PhD
May 23, 20212 min read


Its never too early to start MLD
Thompson et al, found evidence for MLD to prevent onset in early breast cancer patients and to reduce arm volume in early stage lymphoedema

Jan Douglass PhD
Mar 6, 20216 min read


Inflammation and fibrosis in lymphoedema. What's really going on and does MLD help?
While there are multiple studies showing that MLD & CDT reduce the symptoms of inflammation and can reverse some fibrotic changes, there is

Jan Douglass PhD
Oct 4, 20205 min read


How does Dr Vodder's MLD affect small blood vessels?
Manual Lymph Drainage, developed by Emil and Estrid Vodder over 80 years ago, has gained recognition around the world for its effectiveness

Jan Douglass PhD
Aug 13, 20202 min read


Basic Pre-Quiz, how did you do?
The Basic Pre-Quiz is being updated. Here are the results on the 500 responses received

Jan Douglass PhD
Apr 11, 20205 min read


Lymph flow, valves and why lymph loading is so important
Lymph flow is required for the valves to form and function, and now we know that endothelial cells can ‘sense’ the flow and respond.

Jan Douglass PhD
Jan 19, 20205 min read


Another ICG update, do we need to change anything?
My issue is that therapists and clients pick up on studies like this and start thinking that it means we should do something different

Jan Douglass PhD
Nov 16, 20194 min read


How can Vodder's MLD resolve trigger points without pain?
People are often surprised when I start talking about MLD to resolve trigger points, or treat conditions like adhesive capsulitis and CRPS

Jan Douglass PhD
Aug 20, 20196 min read


Lymphoedema services in regional Australia
I just did a quick search on the National Lymphoedema Practitioner Register #NLPR to see where people affected by lymphoedema have access therapist services. As expected people with the necessary training and skills are clustered in the metro areas and Melbourne and Sydney have over 50 therapists within a 100km radius of each city centre. Brisbane is not far behind with 48 Perth has 31. Everywhere else you will struggle to find more than a handful of therapists and even majo

Jan Douglass PhD
Jul 2, 20191 min read


MLD for Pain and Stress
When I teach MLD we talk a lot about the way the body responds to stress. We're all familiar with the symptoms, sweaty palms, knotted stomac

Jan Douglass PhD
Apr 3, 20196 min read


Using ICG to image the effects of MLD
What ICG fluoroscopy can't tell us, is what is happening in the deep system, nor the systemic effects of MLD which were shown by Heutzschenr

Jan Douglass PhD
Sep 1, 20182 min read


Does MLD improve volume reduction in lymphoedema management? And does the technique really matter?
A recent SR and MA on standard therapy (compression with or without exercise and skin-care), compared to standard therapy with MLD, concl

Jan Douglass PhD
Jun 3, 20186 min read


Brain drainage – what’s all the fuss about?
An area of great excitement in lymphatic research - and I think great confusion - is the ‘new discovery’ of ‘lymph vessels’ in the brain. Th

Jan Douglass PhD
Mar 8, 20183 min read


Shedding light on fluorescent imaging
Also called near-infrared fluorescence imaging (NIRFI) or near-infrared fluorescence lymphatic imaging (NIRFLI) the technique uses a very sm

Jan Douglass PhD
Jan 3, 20184 min read
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