Lymphedema Management

Overview

Lymphedema is an abnormal accumulation of protein-rich fluid under your skin. The body’s lymphatic system, when working normally, acts like a waste removal system, eliminating this fluid. This system also helps to fight infection. When your lymphatic system is disrupted, fluid can “back up,” causing swelling in the arms, legs, head, neck, or trunk.

Lymphedema is common in cancer patients following surgeries that involve lymph node removal and radiation treatments. It may also result from a surgical procedure or inherited condition or occur as a long-term complication of another disease process.

The Clinic

WashU Medicine Physical Therapy provides comprehensive rehabilitation to treat patients with a wide range of conditions that present with swelling and mobility problems. Our lymphedema therapy services began in 2006. We treat not only lymphedema of the head, neck, trunk, arms, and legs, but also can also treat associated pain and mobility problems with highly-trained, movement-oriented staff.

Conditions include:

• Lymphedema in arms, legs, or abdomen after cancer treatment
• Lymphedema in head and neck after cancer treatment
• Hereditary Lymphedema
• Chronic Venous Insufficiency
• Surgical Recovery
• Cancer Treatment- Related Fatigue, Balance Dysfunction, or Pain

Your Visit

Our specialty-trained clinicians will complete a thorough movement assessment evaluation that is tailored to your specific concerns. Treatment may include compression bandaging and/or garments, education, exercises to address muscle strength, muscle coordination, and movement impairment correction across various functional tasks to help you meet your unique goals. Our trained Certified Lymphedema Therapists (CLT) will provide you with one-on-one treatment sessions to help manage your lymphedema. You will learn:

• Instructions regarding skin care, infection control, and safe exercises
• Lymphatic drainage techniques to move extra lymph fluid out of the swollen area
• Methods for bandaging the swollen area to help reduce the buildup of lymph fluid
• Recommendations for long term compression garment use

Additionally, we provide each patient with:

• Bioimpedance spectroscopy at regular intervals to evaluate fluid under the skin.
• One-on-one patient care at every appointment
• A comprehensive one-hour initial evaluation
• A personalized treatment plan- developed by your therapist to help you meet your individual rehabilitation goals
• Personal communication between your physical therapist and your physician
• Free, convenient, and accessible parking located in front of our building

Our Approach

Our institution has been recognized as a Lymphedema Network of Excellence. Our therapists have met the highest standards in diagnosing and treating lymphedema effectively. Our Certified Lymphedema Therapists are trusted experts in evaluating the movement system and in treating identified movement impairments. Our focused treatment will help you reduce swelling, improve mobility, and provide education for long term management to reach your optimum functional capabilities.

We will empower you by providing the education you need to understand and correct your movement impairment to meet your personal goals.

SOZO with L-Dex

Cancer-related lymphedema of the arms and legs develops in stages. When it is caught
early, it can be treated and stopped before it gets worse and becomes a lifelong condition.
Our new technology, the SOZO® Digital Health Platform, provides an L-DEX® score to help
detect lymphedema before you feel noticeable swelling. This early alert allows us to work
with you to take steps to stop lymphedema from getting worse, or to avoid getting it at all.

The L-Dex score helps us assess whether you are developing lymphedema before you feel
noticeable swelling. For best results, patients receive a baseline measurement before
cancer treatment begins and are then tested regularly aer treatment. If your L-Dex score
increases above normal levels, we will evaluate you for early signs of lymphedema. If you
don’t get a pre-treatment baseline score, we can still use the L-Dex test to help detect
lymphedema early. The SOZO device is used to measure your L-Dex score. It looks like a
scale, but it has places for you to put your hands and feet. You will not feel the SOZO test
and it only takes 30 seconds to complete.

Service Locations