PhysioPod® UK review their attendance of The TALK Lipoedema Spring 2015 Conference

PhysioPod® UK Limited had the recent pleasure of exhibiting DEEP OSCILLATION® at the first TALK Lipoedema Spring 2015 Conference. This, exciting, bi-annual diary event was held on the weekend of March 20th/21st 2015, at The Holiday Inn, Birmingham Airport with Keynote Speaker Dr Karen L Herbst, PHD MD a leading authority on Lipoedema.

Read on PressReleasePoint 22.04.2015

TALK Lipoedema are a non-profit making organization working to support, advocate and educate on Lipoedema.

Talk Lipodema is registered in England and Wales 8996569

Registered as a Charity in Scotland

 

Alex Munnoch, Patron, TALK Lipoedema

PhysioPod® were initially invited to attend the event by TALK Lipoedema’s Patron, Mr Alex Munnoch whilst they were exhibiting at the British Lymphology Conference 2014 (BLS) of which he previously Chaired,  Alex is a leading international expert on Lymphoedema, and more recently Lipoedema,  Alex Munnoch is Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee where DEEP OSCILLATION® is used within his Plastic Surgery Clinic.  Mr. Munnoch is also Honorary also Clinical Professor at the Australian School of Advanced Medicine at Macquarie University in Sydney.

Acknowledgment from Dr Karen Herbst of DEEP OSCILLATION® - HIVAMAT® 200 in Lipoedema management

PhysioPod® were delighted to note that Dr Karen Herbst, keynote speaker at the Conference, acknowledged in her presentations to both medical professionals and Lipoedema sufferers that DEEP OSCILLATION®/HIVAMAT® 200 treatments are helpful for improving tissue after Lipoedema diagnosis.

Julie applies DEEP OSCILLATION® through gloved hands to Cara Jones of TALK Lipoedema

63% of ladies visiting the PhysioPod® stand, who completed their questionnaire, had Lipoedema, with the remaining 37% having been diagnosed with Lipo-Lymphoedema.  The earliest date of diagnosis was 2005.  Prior to attending the Conference, 55% had no knowledge of DEEP OSCILLATION® or how it could beneft them in management of their condition. 

Clinically Proven Physiological Effects of

DEEP OSCILLATION® 

Highly effective in reducing pain 
Anti-inflammatory 
Effective in reabsorbing oedema 
Promotes wound healing 
Anti-fibrotic
Improves trophicity 
Rubor reduction
Detoxification 
Improving the quality of tissue  

The Conference also gave PhysioPod® the chance to engage with Lipoedema sufferers on a personal level and to demonstrate the therapy to them and partners/supportive others, who were also given the opportunity of applying the therapy through gloved hands or applicators; which they enjoyed as much as the recipient.  100% of sufferers enjoyed the therapy, felt immediate benefits and would recommend to others, several were considering purchasing a unit for self management, two attendees bought at The Conference and another lady has purchased since the event.

 

The following is the account of PhysioPod® of the two days events.

 

Friday Daytime for Medical Professionals

The TALK Lipoedema Spring Conference 2015 began with daytime events for medical professionals.  The areas covered included:

The Pathology of Lipoedema and comorbidities and the diagnosis of Lipoedema in the young -  Dr Karen Herbst

 

Dr Karen Herbst is an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona (UA) in Tucson, Arizona, USA. She became interested in fat disorders during her fellowship in Endocrinology at the University of Washington and has continued her work in this area to date. She diagnoses and treats people who have fat disorders as well as other Endocrinology conditions in her clinic at the University of Arizona and continues to conduct research on fat disorders. Talk Lipoedema is currently working with Karen in various areas of development and research which continued at the Conference

    

Of particular interest to PhysioPod® were the comorbidities and complications of Lipoedema in terms of musculoskeletal, soft tissue, vascular and other and also the section on how Lipoedema could be differentiated from lifestyle-induced obesity.  Dr Herbst also covered in detail the histology of Lipoedema Fat Tissue and spoke of the millions of women that could be affected by Lipoedema and that it may be a VERY common disorder with some 11% of women in the US and the UK alone already identified as being affected.  She spoke of the importance of early identication of Lipoedema and the various treatments for people with Lipoedema and Lipo-Lipoedema; including a natural diet with no man made food, the importance of movement (including WBV whole body vibration and DEEP OSCILLATION®, Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD), wrapping, compression, pumps, supplements and anti-inflammatories; discussing their merits and suitability.  Karen also spoke on the goals of compression.  It was a very informative presentation and was very well-received by those in attendance.

Self Management and Trauma - Els Brouwer

Els Brouwer is a researcher in Lymphoedema and Lipoedema in the Netherlands. She is a member of NLNet which supports people with Lipoedema and Lymphoedema. With colleague Joyce Bosman from NLNet, Els came up with the idea of compiling a book “Impressed by You “in which people talk about their illness and how they deal with it.

Els Brouwer provided a very interesting presentation the effects that under-lying trauma can effect self-management and how healthcare professionals can motivate patients to help with self management. As part of her presentation a powerful video was shown which highlighted the strong effect that words can have and the difference they can make.

 

Workshop on Diagnosis - Dr Karen Herbst 

with help from the clinical team of Talk Lipoedema 

Dr Anne Williams /Elaine MacNicol

Lipoedema volunteers took to the stage and practitioners were taught how to assess the signs and symptoms of Lipoedema.

Surgical Management of Lipoedema - Mr Alex Munnoch

Alex Munnoch delivered a presentation on the surgical management of Lipoedema; discussing the different terminologies used in Liposuction, the complications of Liposuction, the surgical issues and the criteria for surgery.  He felt long term compression garments following liposuction may control re-accumulation.

Lipoedema UK RCGP eLearning brings hope of early diagnosis - Sharie Fetzer of Lipoedema UK

 

Sharie Fetzer, Chair, Lipoedema UK

Sharie Fetzer Chair of Lipoedema UK, brought the audience up-to-date on the progress of the RCGP/Lipoedema UK eLearning course on Lipoedema and the results of the BIG SURVEY.  This course has been designed to educate 500,000 healthcare professionals about Lipoedema in order to make early diagnosis of the condition to get sufferers the help needed. 

 

Workshop: Standard of Care for Lipoedema - Dr Karen Herbst with 

Dr Anne Williams and  Elaine MacNicol 

Improving care for sufferers and increasing education for healthcare providers worldwide.

During the workshop, Dr Karen Herbst unveiled details of a new questionnaire entitled The Standard Of Care for Lipedema (Lipoedema) and is seeking publically available email addresses from providers that are familiar with lipedema/lipoedema to complete.  The aim is to help provide a guideline on how to identify and take care of people with lipedema/lipoedema.  

 

Friday Evening's Activities

 

TALK Lipoedema members arrived from early evening and from the outset, the atmosphere in the crowded room was happy, energetic and upbeat.  The evening began with:

Robert Mitchell-Thain, Education and Development Officer of the PBC Foundation

We were treated to an inspirational and witty presentation from Robert MItchell-Thain.  We explored how different pieces of music made us feel; ranging from traditional brass band to classical, relaxing to heavy metal, to the final piece: “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel.  Each blast of music lasted twenty one seconds, how did each tune make us feel? It was interesting to hear the different views from the audience.  The suggestion of an 'emergency CD' with tunes that uplift, motivate or relax us kep close to hand was very well received.  Music is a powerful too for changing our state and changing our mood.

 

Next up for discussion was language, how we use it and how the meaning of a sentence can change when the emphasis is placed on a different word and secondly; how language can affect our movements and the pace at which we move, with audience participation and videos, this made for a very enjoyable session.

We looked at exercise and the theory that making it fun would make it more do-able, something we should all consider.  We looked at "how taking the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator would make us feel better”  this is something we often hear or read in the Sunday papers but few people actually follow that advice. Would more people to take the stairs over the escalator by making it fun to do?  Take a look at this short clip and the surprising impact it had.

Fashion, Fun & Frivolity with The Nina Blakemore Team presenting The Gala Fashion and Style Show

 

Nina Blakemore

Friday afternoon was a mix of frenzy, nerves and excitement.  Behind closed doors in a sectioned off area of the Lancaster Suite, beautiful Catwalk Model and TV presenter, Nina Blakemore and 12 lucky winners of a makeover chattered excitedly. Nina is a plus sized model who has worked with key people and brands within the fashion industry, most notably Channel 4's Gok Wan's ‘How to Look Good Naked’ – (Gok has been making women proud of their bodies for years).  

Make Up and Hair

At the event, Nina worked very hard with Cara Jones of TALK Lipoedema and Ruth Hancox Professional Make Up Artist and good friend of Nina's and a team of students from The Heart of Worcestershire College, Bromsgrove Campus where Ruth teaches the Professional Arts course.

From Casual Style to Glamourous Evening and Event Wear 

Nina styled the 12 ladies in a range of casual looks from Caroline Ann and various different companies including Florentyna Dawn, Curvety.com, Yours Clothing, Littlewoods SoFabulous and Next 

 

The audience smiled and clapped in appreciation as they were treated to a thrilling catwalk display that would rival Versace, accompanied with with loud funky music. With professional comparing, the tastefully dressed models made their catwalk debuts.  Great posture and long strides, the ladies oozed confidence.  To see 72 year-old Jill, making her way down the catwalk with another model was absolutely amazing; a very spirited lady, looking beautiful in shapely detailed designer clothes.  Everybody loved it and I daresay there weren’t too many dry eyes in the house.

A sumptuous hot supper followed which provided a great opportunity to mingle. The social aspect of the whole evening was wonderful; everybody was relaxed, in good humour and were obviously enjoying sharing their experiences over supper and drinks.  PhysioPod® rounded off the evening in the company of Alex Munnoch enjoying a night cap and discussing the successes of the first day.

Saturday

Chair of TALK Isobel MacEwan extended a warm welcome to attendees.  A mixture of presentations given and workshops ran throughout the day including:

• Management of Lipoedema - Dr Karen Herbst
• Surgical Management of Lipoedema - Mr. Alex Munnoch
• Lipoedema and Muscle Strength - Els Brouwer
• Supporting your partner - Robert Mitchell -Thain of the PBC Foundation
• Be (a) ware of compression with Els Brouwer
• Nordic Walking with Mike Horton of Nordic Walking UK
• Tripudio Movement with Jane Langston
• Self-Management with Robert Mitchell-Thain of the PBC Foundation

PhysioPod® were in a separate, quieter room, to provide treatments all day Saturday, and so did not experience the many activities, but suffice to say, the feedback from those attending the sessions, who came for a DEEP OSCILLATION® massage, felt they had been well-planned, informative and were of great benefit in providing self management help and advice.

Acknowledgements

 

Talk Lipoedema Management Team: Isobel MacEwan - Chairman, Joanna Bird - Treasurer, Den Donelly, Secretary

It was clear to PhysioPod® from the moment they arrived, that a lot of time, effort and passion had been injected into organizing this first ever, TALK Lipoedema Spring Conference.  The Management Team of TALK Lipoedema did a thoroughly great job.  

 

 

A major thank you to Elaine MacNicol and Dr Anne Williams, the Clinical Team at Talk Lipoedema

They put a lot of hard work into the 'behind the scenes' planning of the Conference on both days ensuring that the sessions ran smoothly for the medical day and the TALK Lipoedema members day.  PhysioPod® would like to express their personal gratitude to Elaine for her continuing support with ideas and the proof reading of articles written regarding DEEP OSCILLATION®.

 

Well done to Trustees Pamela & Michaela Dawe, the Mother and Daughter fashionistas!  Superb job on organizing the raffle and prize draw, their continual upbeat effervescence and passion was quite captivating for PhysioPod® to witness.

 

Trustee Cara Jones was excellent in the calming of nerves of the ladies taking part in the fashion show and as always, brings a fun element to proceedings!

 

It was also excellent to chat with Naomi Northen-Ellis and Dawn Roberts from (Compression Therapy UK) on the stand next door to PhysioPod®. Julie appreciated the opportunity to lie down and relax in their Lympha Press® system.

 

 

It's always a joy to see and spend time with Sharie Fetzer Chair of Lipoedema UK who spoke at the event and manned her impressive stand

 

The team from MLD UK, Sarah Bellhouse, Yvonne Foster Palmer and Deborah Berry manned the MLD UK stand

These lovely ladies imparted their expert knowledge to delegates regarding Manual Lymphatic Drainage; advising of the importance of this non-invasive massage technique which is combined with DLT (Decongestive Lymphatic Therapy). DLT is the UK umbrella term that is used which identifies practitioners who are knowledgable and fully trained in the intensive treatment phase and long term management of the chronic conditions of Lymphoedema; Chronic Oedema; Lipoedema and Lipoedema with Secondary Lymphoedema (Lipo-Lymphoedema). These Members have demonstrated competencies in manual or medical lymphatic drainage from the approved and recommended Schools of Vodder; Leduc; FG-MLD; Foldi and Casley-Smith.

 

Thank you also to the incredibly knowledgeable Dr Anna Hill who educated us all in the benefits of herbal teas providing hot herbal teas throughout the event. Anna also practices herbal medicine and MLD in Glasgow and Oban. 

 

Last but not least, thanks to Jill for making dinner such a pleasurable experience; excellent company and hopefully, a new friend...

PhysioPod® are delighted to have offered their support at the TALK Lipoedema Conference and are already looking forward to the Spring 2017 Conference.

 

Julie Soroczyn and Mary Fickling 

Directors and Sisters of PhysioPod® UK Limited