Manual Lymphatic Drainage – an effective treatment for lymphoedemas

Lymphoedema is a multifaceted problem caused by surgery or radiotherapy associated with cancer treatment or associated with a congenital malformation of the lymphatic system. It is often of great complexity, requiring a team approach to its treatment and management. This complexity can mean that existing evidence does not always inform us totally of what is ideal for the current patient and further there is not always an opportunity to select what is ideal due to financial or health professional availability. While we should use existing quantitative/objective evidence for core actions such as Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) the evidence can be hard to find because it is often published in inaccessible medical/scientific journals or is of poor quality or poor underlying science. Rarely does the information provide us with details relating to the qualitative/subjective side of lymphoedema and its co-morbidities. We are often left then with decisions of treatment based on limited or poor evidence. However at least in the area of the benefits of massage for lymphoedema that evidence base is expanding and is being made available to those who deliver it to the patient base.