Upcoming Conferences in Canada

Two upcoming lymphedema conferences that may be interesting to attend! One in Calgary, AB on October 23 & 24 and another in Vancouver, BC on November 7. Check out the flyers.

 

New Report of MLD for lymphedema following breast cancer treatment

Manual lymphatic drainage for lymphedema following breast cancer treatment (Review). View the latest Cochrane Review report online at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003475.pub2

Canadian Lymphedema Framework

Canadian Lymphedema Framework has a new website: www.canadalymph.ca. Please visit this informative site and get the latest updates on what is happening in Canada and also the latest on the CLF conference in Calgary October 23-24.

One Person can initiate a campaign to change

See how one person can initiate a campaign to change legislation in the USA, governing reimbursement of compression garments.  Support the Lymphedema Treatment Act.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQZuvWs4-Pc&feature=youtu.be

Lymphedema Awareness Day

Lymphedema Awareness Day is March 6^th! We salute all those who have worked tirelessly to promote lymphedema awareness around the world. Thank you to all the patients and their families, patient support groups, lymphedema associations, lymphedema framework projects, therapists, physicians, educators, researchers, politicians and all those involved in creating awareness and advocating for care.

Lympahtic research takes a big leap forward in Canada

Lympahtic research takes a big leap forward in Canada. On 9/24/13 in Calgary, the Dianne & Irving Kipnes Foundation donated $5 Million to the University of Calgary, Snyder Chronic Disease Research Institute to support research into lymphedema. Read more: http://www.vodderschool.com/current_articles

Congratulations to Dr. Vodder School – trained therapist, Berit Jardine, BVSc, RMT

Congratulations to Dr. Vodder School – trained therapist, Berit Jardine, BVSc, RMT for the publication of her research on the efficacy of MLD to improve early outcome after total knee arthroplasty.  Please read the abstract from the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2013 (in press).

 

Randomized Trial Investigating the Efficacy of Manual Lymphatic Drainage to Improve Early Outcome After Total Knee Arthroplasty

Jay R. Ebert, PhD,a,b Brendan Joss, PhD,a,b Berit Jardine, BVSc, RMT,b David J. Wood, BSC, MBBS, MS, FRCS, FRACSc

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) in the early postoperative period after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) to reduce edema and pain and improve knee range of motion.

Design: Prospective randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Private hospital and functional rehabilitation clinic.

Participants: Consecutive sample of patients (NZ43; 53 knees) scheduled for TKA.

Intervention: MLD (vs no MLD) on days 2, 3, and 4 postoperatively. Both groups underwent conventional, concomitant physical therapy.

Main Outcome Measures: Clinical assessment was undertaken pre- and postoperatively prior to and after the designated postoperative MLD sessions (days 2, 3, and 4) and at 6 weeks postsurgery. This included active knee flexion and extension range of motion, lower limb girths (ankle, midpatella, thigh, and calf), and knee pain using a numeric rating scale and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score.

Results: A significant group effect was observed for active knee flexion, with post hoc tests demonstrating a significantly greater active knee flexion in the MLD group when compared with the control (no MLD) group at the final measure prior to hospital discharge (day 4 postsurgery) and at 6 weeks postsurgery. There were no further group effects observed for the remaining patient-reported and functional outcomes.

Conclusions: MLD in the early postoperative stages after TKA appears to improve active knee flexion up to 6 weeks postsurgery, in addition to conventional care.

New article

The new consensus document on the treatment of lymphedema has been published in the latest edition of Lymphology:

ISL executive committee: The Diagnosis and Treatment of Peripheral Lymphedema. Lymphology 46 (2013) 1 – 11

Lymph taping June 2013

Lymph Taping comes to Canada. Congratulations to 32 therapists in Toronto and Winnipeg who completed the first medical lymph taping course in North America using the Cure Tape system from Holland. Participants were extremely enthusiastic about this two day course and many had already taken other taping courses. Joyce Bosman, PT gave a lot of new insights to taping for breast, genital, fibrosis, scar and many other indications. We plan on hosting more classes soon.

Staying Relevant in Lymphedema Management

Staying Relevant in Lymphedema Management: attend this innovative new
course instructed by Sara Nelson, DPT at the Scottsdale Health center in
Arizona, September 30th

Developing Skills

Developing a skilled Manual Lymph Drainage therapist/practitioner takes time and commitment both by the therapist and the educator.  The Dr. Vodder School does not take short-cuts in training and is committed to providing the best possible learning experience in a supportive environment. Here is what an experienced physical therapist stated about our training:
"When we practice the basic strokes over and over again, our palpation skills deepen and we become aware of more and more under our hands.  At a time where knowledge is highly promoted we don't want to forget the significance of what our hands can do and that building manual skills takes repetition and time." Sara Nelson, DPT, Kennewick, WA, 2013

Alberta Lymphedema Association: 2nd Lymphedema Symposium.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Andrea Cheville of the Mayo Clinic, a leading specialist on lymphedema who will share current information. In addition to the keynote address, the Alberta Health Services lymphedema management team will provide sessions on treatment, hygiene, self care, and bandaging.

A vendor's market will be set up to display products and offer information and help to participants.

The symposium will be held in Calgary at the Foothills Hospital

Auditorium. Public sessions will be held July 3 and 4, 2013 from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm. The sessions will be repeats.

An evening session will be held for physicians and nurses at the Tom Baker Auditorium on Wednesday July 3 from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm. Physicians may claim Mainpro-M2 credit from the College of Family Physicians of Canada and/or use this presentation as a stimulus to create a Personal Learning Project (PLP) in Section 2 of the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program as defined by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

All sessions are free and food and refreshments will be served.

Please register online at www.albertalymphedema.com or contact Diane Martin at 403-281-9205 or by email at lymphnet@telus.net

Vodder news

The 2013 February Vodder News is now ready for reading!

In this issue read about:

• The Walchsee Lymphology conference
• A new way to bandage the hand

Please also see the schedule at the end of the newsletter about upcoming
classes.

To get to the Vodder News, simply click on the link below.
Alternatively, retype or copy and paste it into the address bar of
your webpage browser.
The link is www.vodderschool.com/vodder_news

Back issues of Vodder News can be viewed from the same page

LANA revised requirements for exam

Effective January 1^st, 2013: The Board of Directors of the Lymphology Association of North America has revised the eligibility requirements to sit for the LANA examination. Applicants who meet all other requirements will no longer have to obtain one year of experience in treating clients with lymphedema before submitting an application to sit for the exam. This revision is in line with many certifying and licensing bodies that administer their certification examinations soon after completion of training. This change will allow qualified individuals to submit applications in a more flexible time frame throughout the year based on their readiness to take the exam. All other requirements for eligibility are the same. Candidates should refer to the Candidate Information Brochure on the LANA website, www.clt-lana.org
 

Melbourne Vodder Review

Professor Neil Piller gave a captivating talk at the Dr. Vodder School - International Review course in Melbourne Australia, November 24 - 26, 2013. One of his topics was Therapeutic Innovation, why are we so slow to adopt?, encouraging us to take a skeptical not cynical approach to evaluating new approaches to lymphedema care.

Vodder certified PT or PTA wanted

We are looking for a Vodder Certified PT or PTA, prn to start as soon as possible. We are an out-patient Physical Therapy Clinic which is located on the first floor of Chesapeake Regional Medical Center in Virginia. We treat all ages and all forms of lymphedema. If you need any more info please call Betsey, Alecia or Melinda at (757) 312 6122, melinda.shuler@chesapeakregional.com

Vodder News

The latest Vodder News is now available.  Please visit http://www.vodderschool.com/vodder_news to read the lastest and previous issues.

Dr. Towers lymphedema segment on CTV

Congratulations to Dr. Anna Towers on getting this segment on lymphedema aired on CTV recently: http://www.healthandfamily.ca/lymphodema

See you at the NLN!

We hope to see some of you at the National Lymphedema Network conference at the Omni hotel in Dallas September 6 – 9. Look for the Dr. Vodder School exhibit along with the Wittlinger Therapy Clinic at booth # 615 next to the LANA and Solaris booths. See you there!

LAO Annual Conference

Lymphedema Association of Ontario
Online Registration for the 16th Annual Lymphedema Conference being held on 

Saturday, October 27th, 2012 is now available:
http://www.lymphontario.ca/component/option,com_dtregister/Itemid,461/