What You Should Know About Lymphedema Therapy

If you have lymphedema, such as if you have recently had your lymph nodes removed as a part of a cancer treatment, then there is a good chance that your doctor has recommended lymphedema therapy. If you are interested in pursuing this type of therapy, it only makes sense to want to learn a little more about it first. For example, these are some of the things that you might want to know ahead of time.

Lymphedema Therapy Can Be Helpful For You

If you have lymphedema because of cancer treatment, there is a good chance that you have had a lot of doctors and hospital stays while fighting cancer. If this is the case, you might not really be interested in additional appointments. This makes sense, of course, but it's definitely worth considering lymphedema therapy. The swelling that can go along with lymphedema can be incredibly uncomfortable, and it can cause you to feel a bit self-conscious about your appearance, too. Plus, lymphedema can cause some serious complications, such as serious infections. Therefore, if your doctor has diagnosed you with lymphedema or if you strongly feel that you have it, then you should definitely consider looking into lymphedema therapy.

Your Therapist Should Be Well-Qualified

You shouldn't seek lymphedema therapy from just anyone. Instead, you should choose someone who is properly certified. Certified lymphedema therapists have to go through a lot of schooling both in a classroom setting and in a clinical setting. As long as you pick a certified therapist, you should be able to count on them to know what they are doing and provide you with the best possible treatment.

You May Need to Seek Regular Treatments

Once you start with lymphedema therapy, you should know that you might need to seek regular treatments. For example, one common treatment for lymphedema is getting a massage, and you might need to get massages on a regular basis if you want to see results. Your doctor and your lymphedema therapist can talk to you a little more about how frequently you will need to see your massage therapist. This will probably depend on the severity of your lymphedema and the types of treatments you are receiving.

There Might Be Things You'll Need to Do at Home

Although your lymphedema therapist will help you a lot at your treatments, they might recommend that you do certain things at home yourself, too. For example, they might recommend that you wrap your leg or arm on a daily basis, and they might show you some exercises that you can do so that you can get some relief. Make sure that you keep up with doing these things at home for best results.