As discussed previously on Lymphedema and its causes, we are talking about the treatment for it today. Lymphedema is swelling that happens when something affects your lymphatic system. Lymphedema often affects your arms and legs, but may also affect other areas of your body. Healthcare providers can’t cure lymphedema, but they can ease its symptoms.
Physical treatments for lymphedema may include:
Compression garments: Compression garments may be socks, sleeves or wraps that have pressure to move fluid from your ltissues into circulation. This reduces swelling and your risk of lymphedema complications.
Physical therapy: Physical therapists who specialize in lymphedema do a gentle form of massage to stimulate circulation. This is manual lymphatic drainage (MLD). The therapists may teach you how to perform this massage on your own.
Multilayer compression bandaging: After manual lymphatic drainage treatment, your physical therapist may place multilayer compression bandages on the swollen areas of your body. (If you’ve ever sprained an ankle, you may have put a short stretch bandage on your ankle to keep it from swelling. Multilayer compression bandaging acts the same way on your lymphedema.)
Elevation: Gravity plays a role in lymphedema symptoms. You should try to keep the affected area of your body elevated as much as possible.
In conclusion, while there’s no cure for lymphedema, making small changes in how you go about your day may help reduce swelling and other symptoms. Small changes to consider include protecting against infection, getting exercise and making small changes in your diet. All informations are gotten from Cleveland clinics.
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