Health & Wellness The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body
Are You Struggling With Lymphedema? How Physical Therapy Can Help!
Do you struggle with achy, swollen, and stiff joints? Do swollen limbs make activities like dressing or getting in and out of a car challenging? Lymphedema can make even the simple things in life difficult. If you live in the Galva, Kewanee or Stark Count area and suffer with lymphedema, please call Kewanee Physical Therapy to arrange a free consultation to learn how physical therapy can help you manage your condition. What Is Lymphedema? You have an intricate network within your body known as the lymphatic system. Comprised of a variety of organs, tissues, nodes, and vessels, the lymphatic system helps your body fight infections by transporting a special clear fluid, called lymph, around the body. Lymph contains white blood cells, protein and fat cells of the immune system. Your lymphatic system also helps expel toxins and unwanted waste and return fluids into the bloodstream. Lymphedema (sometimes called lymphoedema or lymphatic edema) occurs when the lymphatic system becomes
compromised in some way. This prevents the appropriate flow and drainage of lymph fluid and leads to fluid retention and swelling (edema). Common Signs of Lymphedema Because lymphedema causes fluid retention, swelling is the primary sign. Patients with lymphedema typically notice swelling in some or all of one or more limbs. Hands, fingers, feet, and toes can also become affected. Clinicians can quickly assess whether swelling ismild, moderate, or severe bymeasuring the affected limb. If swelling is significant, a visible indentation will be left behind when pressing a finger into the tissue, which can last anywhere from a brief second to thirty seconds or longer, depending on severity. This sign is known as pitting edema. The extra fluid retained with the lymph system often gives rise to a sense of achiness, tightness, heaviness, fullness, or soreness in the limbs. People often find that they have a hard time moving their limbs and may experience decreased or abnormal sensations, such as tingling or persistent itchiness.
Schedule Your Appointment Today! Kewanee: 309.852-2200 Galva: 309.932.8100 Stark County: 309.695.4010.
www.kptrs.com
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