Lymphedema Therapists, are we talking to our clients about how stress management can help treat lymphedema?
By: Kathleen Helen Lisson, CLT
As Lymphedema Therapists, we have seen first hand that chronic lymphedema can cause both physical effects in the tissue and psychological stress, and both can worsen as lymphedema progresses.
We are recommending MLD and compression to help treat lymphedema’s physical effects in the tissues. What are we recommending for psychological stress that isn’t serious enough to warrant a referral to a mental health professional?
Are we talking to our clients about stress management?
Maybe we are concerned that they might not be open to learning about breathwork practices, meditation or mind/body exercise interventions.
Would you be surprised if I told you that Australian researchers found that half of survey respondents reported using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies to help treat their lymphedema? Indeed, many people with lymphedema have previously used stress reduction interventions like mindfulness and yoga to reduce the side effects of cancer treatment.
Australian researchers sent a survey to 247 members of the Lymphedema Association of Queensland and found that, in addition to using mainstream medicine treatments for lymphedema management, half of the respondents reported using at least one of 22 complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies to treat their lymphedema. CAM therapies included acupuncture, aromatherapy, meditation, tai chi and yoga (Finnane et al., 2011).
Maybe we are concerned that we don’t know if stress reduction practices like breathwork and yoga are safe and effective for people with lymphedema.
The book Stress Reduction for Lymphedema takes a look at published research on mind-body practices that may reduce the negative effects of stress in people with lymphedema, with step-by-step instructions so people with lymphedema can try many of the practices themselves.
Lymphedema Stress management activities include:
*Breathwork protocols recommended for people with lymphedema
*Mindfulness exercises from a lymphedema program in India
*Holistic practices including acupuncture for people with lymphedema and a progressive muscle relaxation routine that may improve the effects of decongestive therapy
*Movement-based activities like qi gong and taiso for upper limb lymphedema and yoga for upper and lower limb lymphedema
This book is a must-read for people with lymphedema looking for evidence-based approaches to reduce the symptoms of stress. Find Stress Reduction for Lymphedema in paperback and kindle here: https://amzn.to/3Q862Q1
Kathleen will be presenting stress reduction practices for lymphedema at the 2023 ISL World Congress of Lymphology in Italy. Find more information on attending here: https://www.isl2023lymphology.com/
Kathleen Helen Lisson is board certified in therapeutic massage and bodywork and is a Certified Lymphedema Therapist. She has spoken at the AVLS, FDRS, MLD UK, S4OM and NLN conferences. She is a coauthor of the Standard of Care for Lipedema in the United States and the author of six books, including Stress Reduction for Lymphedema. She lives with her husband Arun and their dog in sunny San Diego, CA. Find her on Instagram and Threads at @StressReductionForLymphedema
Resource:
Finnane A, Liu Y, Battistutta D, Janda M, Hayes SC. Lymphedema after breast or gynecological cancer: use and effectiveness of mainstream and complementary therapies. J Altern Complement Med. 2011 Sep;17(9):867–9. doi: 10.1089/acm.2010.0456. PMID: 21875352. Retrieved from: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/46303/1/46303.pdf
