Justine Asghar is a Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapist who works at the Renovatio Clinic in Cheshire. Justine has been using the LymphaTouch device for the last 6 months on secondary Lymphoedema patients suffering with swelling and discomfort. We spoke to Justine to see how she was getting on with the device and the results she has seen.
WHAT PATIENTS DO YOU TYPICALLY SEE?
Primarily I see people with primary and secondary Lymphoedema and some patients who've had cosmetic surgery. Most of these patients have been referred into us from The Christie or the Nightingale Hospitals through the breast care nurses because they have Lymphoedema.
WHAT DID YOU USE BEFORE THE LYMPHATOUCH?
Before I got the LymphaTouch I was using the Hivamat for around 6 years. So I was doing manual lymphatic drainage, using the Hivamat for fibrotic tissue and intermittent pneumatic pumps. One of my patients saw another MLD therapist and had the LymphaTouch used on her and she came back raving about it. I could also see quite clearly that there had been an improvement in an area that I had been struggling with a little bit. On the upshot of that I decided to investigate further and look at getting LymphaTouch myself...
"And I've not looked back."
WHAT CONDITIONS DOES THE LYMPHATOUCH HELP BEST WITH?
I've found that the LymphaTouch is really beneficial for patients who have secondary Lymphoedema. A lot of my ladies that I treat are breast cancer patients, so there is a lot of scar tissue. Scar tissue is very difficult to get through, that's where myofascial release comes in which is really handy. But with the LymphaTouch I am able to pull up the dermis and help with the drainage, so I feel like this takes a lot of time off my treatments.
HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM USING YOUR HANDS?
This differs from using my hands because its more effective, the fact that you have the pressure there pulling up the skin we're creating a larger area for drainage. The LymphaTouch takes minutes whereas my hands may take 20 minutes, so it improves the lymphatic drainage for the patient as a whole. Using this, I can see the benefits and the patient can see the benefits as well, I feel like its just an additional limb for myself.
DO YOU USE IT IN COMBINATION WITH ANY OTHER METHODS?
I use this with the Hivamat quite often with my gloves on but then I will have the LymphaTouch as well. I also use LED, the infrared is anti inflammatory. If I've got an area which is deeply congested, I am using the LymphaTouch first, draining the area using my manual lymphatic drainage techniques and opening up all the pathways and then using the LED light as well.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN BENEFITS OF USING THE LYMPHATOUCH?
What I hope for a patient is that they see and feel the difference. Manual lymphatic drainage done very basically people do see a difference anyway. But then when you've got something like this complimenting what you're doing it increases the benefits and the outcomes. Hopefully, we will see a reduction where their limb may feel lighter and see swelling decrease - 9 out of 10 times we see that when using the LymphaTouch device.
