Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD)

Anne Arundel Health System Research Institute

Status: Terminated

Conditions: Post-operative Edema; Total Knee Arthroplasty

Treatments: Other: Physical Therapy; Other: Manual Lymphatic Drainage

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02360735

MLD-2014

Details and patient eligibility

About

Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) is a specialized massage technique utilized to decrease various forms of edema. This technique promotes reuptake of interstitial fluid along the pathways of the lymphatic system. This technique promotes healing, decrease swelling, and decrease pain.

Full description

Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) is a specialized massage technique utilized to decrease various forms of edema. Edema can limit function, range of motion (ROM) and increase pain after surgery. Studies have shown that decreasing edema can increase knee strength and functional performance on various standardized measures. MLD has been shown to be effective in patients with hind foot operations and increases ROM post total knee replacement (TKR) surgery. The aim of this study is to determine whether MLD on a sample of patients with TKR will decrease edema, increase ROM and decrease pain as compared to TKR patients who do not receive MLD.

Enrollment: 4 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 45 to 90 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• s/p total knee replacement
• Primary diagnosis of osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease
• Able to read and understand English to consent
• Acceptance of the study protocol procedure

Exclusion criteria

• Active infection
• Tumor
• Metastatic or systemic malignancy
• Acute thrombus
• History of pulmonary embolism
• Major cardiac pathology such has angina
• Heart attack or uncompensated congestive heart failure (CHF)
• Body mass index (BMI) > 40
• Pregnant or lactating women
• Renal dysfunction
• Joint revision
• Hospitalization length of stay less than or greater than 3 days
• Previous knee replacement
• Bilateral knee replacement

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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4 participants in 2 patient groups

Control

Active Comparator group

Description:

Patients randomized to this arm will follow the current standard for post-operative care.

Treatment:

Other: Physical Therapy

Experimental

Experimental group

Description:

Patients randomized to this arm will follow the current standard for post-operative care as well as 2 daily sessions of manual lymphatic drainage.

Treatment:

Other: Manual Lymphatic Drainage

Other: Physical Therapy