Who should not have lymphatic drainage, and why.

Every contraindication on this page traces back to one mechanism: MLD deliberately moves fluid. Fluid leaves the swollen tissue, enters lymphatic vessels, passes through nodes and arrives in the bloodstream near your collarbones. In a healthy system that is the point of the treatment. In a few specific conditions, each step of that journey can cause harm.

A heart that is already failing to keep up does not need extra returning fluid. A vein containing a fresh clot does not need mechanical encouragement nearby. An infection does not need help spreading through the very network that is trying to contain it. None of this makes MLD dangerous in general; it makes screening non-negotiable.

This is also why the health history at your first visit is thorough and why we re-check at every appointment. Conditions change. The screening is not bureaucracy; it is the treatment's safety system working.

Four situations rule out MLD entirely until they are resolved or treated. If any of these applies to you, do not book MLD, and if one emerges at intake, we will not treat that day. Each has a concrete reason.

A second list does not rule MLD out, but changes how, where or whether we treat, and often means we ask for your physician's clearance first. Bringing these up at booking saves you an appointment that ends at the intake.

A history of cancer deserves its own note, because many MLD clients are cancer survivors managing treatment-related lymphedema. Survivorship is not a contraindication; it is one of the main reasons this service exists, and lymphedema therapist training exists precisely for it. What we need is the full picture: diagnosis, treatments, dates and your oncology team's guidance, so care is planned inside your medical reality rather than around it.

Screening at Launch Rehab is a structured health history taken by the treating therapist before any hands-on work: current symptoms, how the swelling behaves, infections, clot history, heart and kidney function, cancer history and treatments, medications, recent surgeries and skin condition. Registered massage therapists in BC are regulated by the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC, and screening within scope is part of that standard of practice.

The outcome of the intake is one of three honest answers. Treat today, with a plan matched to your situation. Treat after clearance, where we ask your physician a specific question and wait for the answer. Or do not treat, where MLD is the wrong tool and we say so and point you to the right one. All three are good outcomes; the only bad outcome is treating through a red flag.

Between appointments, one habit protects you more than anything we do: watch the warning signs. A limb that becomes hot, red and painful, swelling that appears suddenly on one side, fever, or breathlessness are medical situations first. Call your physician or urgent care, and tell us afterwards.

After a page of warnings, perspective: for people outside the lists above, manual lymphatic drainage performed by a trained, regulated therapist is considered a safe, low-risk treatment. The Cochrane review of MLD in breast-cancer-related lymphedema reported it as safe alongside compression therapy, and the technique's light pressure carries none of the bruising or soreness risks of deep tissue work.

The rules exist so the gentle treatment stays gentle in effect, not just in touch. Screening is how a clinic earns the word safe rather than assuming it. If you are unsure which side of any line you fall on, that is not a reason to stay away; it is exactly what the assessment visit and a note to your physician are for.