Why does Granny have swollen legs? How can I get my skinny legs back? I haven’t seen my ankles in years.
Vascular Edema is typically a result of Chronic Venous Insufficiency. CVI is caused by deficient valves inside the veins, which fail to prevent retrograde flow of venous blood during muscle pump activities (ie walking). Because of these “bad valves” there is a pooling of venous blood in your legs with standing and walking. This is why elevation is so important! But you can’t stay elevated for the rest of your life… so that is where compression garments come into play. Compression garments provide external structure to the vein’s walls, preventing the pooling, allowing you to move and groove you like you’ve been known to do.
Have you ever said, “But compression garments are hard to put on and they cause pain”?
That is true for a lot of people. And that is why we have to get the edema out of your legs before you get fitted for compression garments.
“How do I get the edema out?” you might ask…
This is where a Certified Lymphedema Therapist comes into the picture. Complete Decongestive Therapy is necessary to address your swelling. CDT is quite a sacrifice, but well worth it. In as little as 4 weeks, we can decrease the edema in your legs – to where you can see your ankles again!. Along with a specific lymphatic massage (known as Manual Lymphatic Drainage), we use several layers of short-stretch bandages, these remain on your legs continuously until we get the results you want, and then we measure you for well-fitting compression garments.
Let’s Get Started!
If you have chronic leg swelling and have had enough, schedule an evaluation with Dr. Meyer, a LANA-Certified Lymphedema Therapist. She guarantees you will see results in as little as 4 weeks.