Swelling and pain are two of the biggest limitations of orthopedic rehabilitation. Treatment for the lymphatics is valuable for orthopedic injuries and can expedite recovery. It can make dramatic changes for patients recovering from fractures, sprains, strains, crush injuries, and wounds.
Joint replacements can be especially challenging for many patients especially if they already have swelling, or there are underlying reasons for swelling such as primary lymphedema, scarring, or vascular disorders.
Understanding lymphatic congestion and treatment and implementing certain strategies might substantially contribute to the healing and function of orthopedic patients that have these limitations. Helping them manage edema and lymphatic congestion with skilled therapy and home management tools may also decrease the financial burden on our patients and our health care system.
About our Speaker
Lesli Bell, PT, DPT, CLT-LANA, graduated from PT school with her BS from California State University Fresno in 1984 and she completed her DPT through Regis University in Denver Colorado in 2013. She opened her orthopedic private practice, Timberlane Physical Therapy, in 1988 in Burlington Vermont, which is still thriving. She has always worked hard to advance and develop her orthopedic subspecialties and manual therapy skills, staying on the cutting edge of physical therapy. In 1997 she was introduced to the world of edema disorders and quickly realized the importance of this information in many areas of physical therapy.
In 2001 she co-developed the Bellisse Compressure Comfort Bra to meet the needs of breast cancer patients with trunk and breast lymphedema. She has devoted much time to solving the complicated problems for this patient population and she lectures extensively on PT interventions every year for PT’s as well as other medical disciplines.
Lesli has been very involved with APTA since her graduation and has held several positions and served on multiple committees for APTA National and the Vermont Chapter. She serves as the Lymphedema Special Interest Group Chair and is on the Oncology Board of Directors for National APTA and is currently the Vice President for the Vermont chapter of the APTA. Lesli is very excited to have the opportunity to share her observations and innovative treatment techniques with her colleagues.
Watch more webinars from our Lympha Press Education Series on YouTube.
