Lymphatic Drainage of the Skin and Treatment of Lymphedema

Recent advances in lymph dynamic analysis call for redefinition of the steps and techniques of non-surgical treatment of lymphedema. Non-surgical treatment, which is black boxed as complex lymphatic physiotherapy, needs to be structured to be scalable and scientific. To design treatment based on recent findings on the lymphatic system, the techniques of conservative treatment should be structurally analyzed based on physiological findings. The purpose of this review is to stratify the manual lymphatic drainage into pathophysiological level, effect mechanism level, and technology level to provide a perspective for applying the scientific knowledge to clinical practice.