Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians, also known as physiatrists, treat a wide variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons.
Lymphatic drainage can be helpful in reducing this type of edema because the cause is a reduced functioning of the lymph system. Other causes of edema can be a chemical imbalance in the body caused by liver disease, diabetes, or a variety of other ailments.
Manual lymphatic drainage was pioneered by Danish Drs. Emil Vodder and Estrid Vodder in the 1930s for the treatment of chronic sinusitis and other immune disorders. While working on the French Riviera treating patients with chronic colds, the Vodders noticed these patients had swollen lymph nodes.