Letter to the Editor featured and published in the “International Lymphology Journal 2017”
Conversation starter for further work and research in the effects of why and how manual lymphatic drainage Dr Vodder technique may be a natural therapy to assist in the wound healing and help skin conditions like Eczema.
Photo slide videos of Eczema and Psoriasis before and after manual lymphatic drainage. end of page.
To the Editor,
I am a Dr Vodder Lymphoedema Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) therapist and have been working in the industry for ten years. As part of my work I have treated lymphoedema clients who also have eczema or psoriasis which can exacerbate the swelling. Having noticed good outcomes for these skin conditions in these patients, I started to treat people with genetic eczema or psoriasis that do not have lymphoedema.
Many of my clients have commented they were able to sleep without constant itching, able to reduce medication, and had overall positive physical and psychological benefits. This I interpret as indicating that people with inflammatory dermal conditions appear to be benefiting from manual lymphatic drainage. However it would seem more research is needed to explore the stages of inflammation and the impact of MLD, alone and with normally used medications to see what combination is best for optimal for outcomes for these skin conditions.
I believe this is an exciting area with the potential to identify natural treatments which could assist in the management of eczema and psoriasis problems.
It may be that a poorly functioning lymphatic system (perhaps with a genetic component to it) and corresponding increase in local inflammatory mediators (and con-committant local area swelling) could be an underlying cause of genetic and other eczema and psoriasis. Logically as Manual lymphatic drainage helps move the fluid from the inflamed area this could be the most reasonable explanation for the reduction in inflammation. Have any others observed similar positive effects on a patient with or without lymphoedema and these genetic skin conditions and do you think this is a reasonable explanation?