As Dr. Emil Vodder and his wife Estrid developed the manual lymph drainage technique in 1930’s France, they saw and literally felt under their hands congestion in the subcutaneous tissue and lymph nodes on patients with chronic catarrhal infections.

They realized that they could drain this congestion with pumping, circular manipulations, thus helping their patients reach a state of well being. They found illustrations of lymph channels. They applied their pumping and draining movements according to the lymphatic course.

This is how they developed a new technique that they named "Manual Lymph Drainage" (MLD).

Characteristics of the movements

The Dr. Vodder technique consists of circular or spiral shaped strokes with a pressure increase (30 Torr), followed by a decrease in pressure leading to a pressureless phase. This change in pressure creates the pumping effect. The technique works WITH the skin and not ON the skin. The direction of the increase of pressure and respectively the moving of the skin lies in the direction of lymph flow. These strokes create an inner contact with the skin, so that the existing skin over the tissue is moved. It means that work is mostly done on dry skin. A drop of oil is only used on hairy body parts. Oil will also be used in cases where it is difficult to move the skin (scars, edge of a venous ulcer, taut edemas) or on really dry or rough skin (such as eczema).

The strokes are performed evenly and rhythmically. The stroking speed is given by the maximal frequency of the lymphangiomotoricity. The strokes should provoke neither reddening of the skin nor pain.

The Vodder technique always starts with the lymph nodes and lymph vessels found at the neck and the junction of the large lymph channels found in the venous arch on both sides of the body.

Fundamental for the effect of Manual Lymph Drainage is not only that it should be professionally administered, but also that the time devoted to treatment corresponds to the clinical picture. The Manual Lymph Drainage uses treatment lengths that are otherwise unusual in massage therapy. They last mostly somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes but can also be extended to 1½ hours, depending on the condition being treated.