Lymphatic Drainage

Complete Decongestive Therapy (CDT) is a combination of Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD), bandaging of the affected areas, remedial exercises, and skin and nail care. CDT is divided into a two-phase program that initially involves an intense treatment phase (5 days a week) and is then followed by a maintenance program continued by the patient at home. MLD involves a gentle, manual technique that follows lymphatic pathways; emptying and decompressing obstructed lymph vessels in the involved limb.

Each MLD treatment decongests the limb and helps return it to a more normal size. Compression bandages then make up for the diminished tissue pressure of the skin and they prevent the re-accumulation of stagnate lymph fluid and thereby maintain the result of the MLD treatment. When a short stretch compression bandage is applied to the lymphedematous limb, it supports the tissues without "squeezing" because its fabric does not contain elastic materials. This means that the bandage is not capable of shortening around the limb after application and is therefore not exerting an increased pressure during inactivity.