Is physical therapy ok for people with lymphedema? Please Help.

GmaFoley
GmaFoley Member Posts: 7,091
edited June 2014 in Lymphedema

I have some very painful issues that have come up and was referred to physical therapy. It is in the same quadrant as my Lymphedema of the trunk.  Is there any part of this treatment I should stay away from?? Just don't want any flares. Help please.

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  • 301724
    301724 Member Posts: 478
    edited April 2013

    Hi GMaFoley - just make sure your PT knows about/is certified in lymphedema care. They can provide a lot of relief and can show you some techniques you can use to help yourself.

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  • GmaFoley
    GmaFoley Member Posts: 7,091
    edited April 2013

    My LE Therapist is in the same office, but he is an OT so they won't let him work on me.  I will ask the PT to confer with him if she doesn't know about LE. I hope that will work.

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  • Kicks
    Kicks Member Posts: 4,131
    edited April 2013

    I've had to do PT twice since LE and even though the areas I needed it for had nothing to do with LE arm - the PT's would not do anything until they cleared what they wanted to do with my LE Guy (who also happens to be an OT).  But then I get my care through VA and it deinately seems I've had better/consistant care than the VA care most talk about.  I was to our local Cancer Institute for my chemo, surgery, chemo and rads and they were great but everything else is through VA.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited May 2013

    Hello I'm Terry and new to the forum. I just came from my second PT appt, no signs of lymphodema just surgical swelling so far. I have a question that feels silly but it's on my mind. Can the exercise and massage associated with releasing the fluid make that fluid more likely to move cancer cells thru the body? I'm almost a month since surgery and dwelling on anything that might make this thing more likely to spread. Any info from those who may have had these thoughts and have some resolution would be appreciated. I haven't discussed it with my surgeon or oncologist as yet to get their feel.

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  • Binney4
    Binney4 Member Posts: 8,609
    edited May 2013

    Tresa, hello!

    Good question! And it has a good answer: cancer spread is far more complex a process than that. Good thing, too, because if exercise and the gentle lymph massage were a danger to moving cancer cells, we'd have to sit absolutely still for the rest of our lives to avoid trouble!Frown Any movement of our muscles moves lymph fluid. The superficial lymph vessels lie between the muscles and the skin, and the pressure of those muscles moving against the lymph vessels is the major way that lymph moves, since it has no pump like the heart. So anytime you move, you're stimulating lymph flow. Which is what you want, since it's a crucial part of your immune system.Smile

    Hope that helps. Be well!
    Binney

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited May 2013

    Thank you that's what I thought. I was needing reassurance.

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  • GmaFoley
    GmaFoley Member Posts: 7,091
    edited May 2013

    Going to PT and then see my LE therapist after today - my upper arms seem to be bulging out the top of my sleeve.  

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