Objectives: To study the immediate impact of manual lymph drainage (MLD) on skin and subcutaneous tissue strains in legs with lymphedema using free-hand real-time tissue elastography (RTE).
Methods: Skin and subcutaneous tissue strain measurements were taken at the middle of the inner thigh and calf by RTE in 20 legs with lymphedema of 18 patients (stage II: 11, late stage II: 7, stage III: 2) and in 70 legs of 35 normal subjects. In patients with lymphedema, the same measurements were repeated immediately following MLD.
Results: Significant negative correlations were found between pre-MLD strains and the MLD-induced changes in thigh and calf skin strains (thigh skin: p <0.01, calf skin: p = 0.05), but not in subcutaneous tissue strains. Pre-MLD intercepts of these regression lines were closer to normal values as compared to mean pre-MLD values (normal thigh skin: 0.54% ± 0.30%, calf skin: 0.25% ± 0.18%, Pre-MLD thigh skin: 0.39% ± 0.20%, calf skin: 0.17% ± 0.12%, Pre-MLD intercept of thigh skin: 0.48%, Pre-MLD intercept of calf skin: 0.31%).
Conclusions: It appears that MLD did not simply soften the skin, but rather normalized it in terms of strain. However, this was not confirmed in the subcutaneous tissue.
Keywords: elastography; lymphedema; manual lymph drainage; ultrasonography.