Every year on July 24, International Self-Care Day reminds us that self-care is a 24/7 necessity, not a luxury. But while the word “self-care” may conjure images of spa days and scented candles, the reality is far more powerful, and essential for those living with chronic pain.

With greater anatomical variability than other body system, the lymphatic vasculature can be difficult to represent in standard textbook diagrams. New students of lymphatic therapies often struggle to understand and memorise the location of the lymph vessels and nodes, however observation and research on guided imagery in the classrooms show that it can enhance relaxation and receptivity to learning, and lead to greater subject mastery through embodied, sensory-rich learning.

Although most surgical wounds will heal well, almost half will result in persistent post-surgical pain, with as many as 40% of post-op patients reporting symptoms consistent with neuropathic pain. Physiologically different to usual post-surgical pain which resolves naturally as tissue healing progresses, neuropathic pain is a complex and often misunderstood condition that may persist long after wound healing has occurred, and can significantly reduce quality of life (1,2)

The therapeutic use of essential oils is deeply rooted in ancient medicine where aromatic plants were revered for their scent, healing properties, and used in spiritual and purification practices.

Lymphoedema is a daily challenge, even for those with access to the best specialty care. For most, poverty, ignorance and stigma with amply

Explore how Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) promotes wound healing through lymphangiogenesis, improves tissue repair, and reduces chronic wound

As many of us resolve to lose weight this year, it’s vital to consider how success is measured to avoid unrealistic goals and setbacks.

As the prevalence of MCAS rises, there is an increasing demand for supportive therapies to manage symptoms and reduce the inflammatory load,

The benefits of talking, laughing, and crying extend far beyond mere emotional expression. These natural acts enhance lymph flow, support ve

Misconceptions about the appropriate direction and pressure for lymphatic massage in lymphoedema abound, and a search of the world wide web

The unique structure and innervation of the facial skin contributes to specialised functions such as facial expressions and sensory percepti

mitigating excess scar formation is of paramount importance in allied health care, and MLD and Elastic Taping are two of the most effective

Lymphatic muscle cells are unique in the body, functioning like both smooth muscle and cardiac cells simultaneously.

Almost 50 years ago Prof. Dr. Paul Hutzschenreuter measured the effect of Dr Vodder's MLD on the sympathetic nervous system, noting a signif

Ask any Lymphatic Therapist where you can find research articles on any of the hundreds of conditions that benefit from MLD, and they will s

Understanding the role of the glymphatic system in neurodegenerative diseases opens up new avenues for therapeutic interventions and reinfor

The populatory of elastic taping among athletes and health professionals is visible across our sporting screens, and the use of elastic tape

In 30+ years of teaching lymphology, the topic most students struggle with in the beginning is the lymph pathways.

Lymphoedema is a skin disease. Untreated high protein oedema induces connective tissue changes, leading to significant skin pathology such

New initial lymph vessels grow according to the interstitial fluid pressure and strain on the fibres in the ECM. Fluid movement is crucial t

The intervention group then had a second treatment where the MLD was modified according to the individual imaging, while the control group h

MLD helps to minimize bruising and hematoma formation and reduce pain and discomfort associated with plastic or cosmetic surgery. By quickly

Adrian first became interested in lymphoedema management when his Grandmother suffered with swelling later in life. As a Physio, and appalle

Well obviously, not EVERYTHING, but ask that question of the client at the centre of this case study and they would give you a big "YES" and

Dr Vodder’s MLD uses gentle, repetitive skin movements to bring about change in the connective tissue. MLD stimulates the meissner’s corpus

The demand for level 1 studies is largely driven by academic needs, rather than tangible, clinically relevant outcomes.

There's nothing quite so satisfying as reading a well written paper which summarises everything interesting that we know about the lymph...

Whether it's long-COVID brain fog, frozen shoulder, or long-term inflammatory disease, Applied MLD offers a lymphatic approach to treatment.

An easy - and free - way for therapists to assess clinical progress is to use an analogue scale. Image by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on...

There has been a lot of discussion lately around systematic reviews and RCTs on the effectiveness of MLD in our treatment mix. Measuring tre

Gentle stretching forces help resolve acute inflammation, and reduce pain and immune cell infiltrate. This has implications for those of us

Between COVID, climate change and the exponential growth of our connected world, it is obvious to me that we must now behave as as global co

Randomised controlled trials are not suited to assessing the effectiveness of treatments for lymphoedema and other choric diseases.

By now I knew that I was never going to be in a financial position to volunteer large chunks of my time to work in LF-endemic countries, so

Cerebral spinal fluid (CFS) is sometimes referred to as a 3rd circulation system, functioning as the lymphatic equivalent to clear wastes fr

... not surprising when you consider the strong links between lymphatic disease and fat disorders, they are reciprocal risk factors for each

Releasing a frozen shoulder makes it much easier to apply effective CDT in arm lymphoedema, and reducing piriformis pain will certainly help

Systematic reviews are an academic exercise to ‘systemically review’ the existing literature on a particular research question. They are ...

explain the scientific basis of the effects of MLD, the specific tissue or system effects achieved by individual techniques, and the expecte

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...

Across two decades of teaching therapists how to interact with lymphatics through MLD and Lymph Taping, I have witnessed an explosion in...

The study looked at how the lymphatic endothelia cells behave when there is tissue hypoxia, so there are three interesting things here. How

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

Intensive drainage of the intercostal pathways are used during MLD for upper torso and arm lymphoedema, and along with the bronchitis techni

Thompson et al, found evidence for MLD to prevent onset in early breast cancer patients and to reduce arm volume in early stage lymphoedema

My Mum's knee surgery went really well, after 3-weeks of MLD and exercise she has recovered almost full flexion and extension.

Research conducted at the University of Western Australia (1), with Vodder MLD significantly greater active knee flexion in the MLD group wh

Early and frequent MLD may prevent the newly forming lesion from developing, and in more progressed disease MLD will be effective in this ki