Self Manage Your Lymphoedema - New Online Course with Aideen Schweppe

There’s something new and unique on the market for those of you interested in taking control of your own health, specifically when it comes to your lymphatic system.

A simple, easy-to-follow online course comprised of short video tutorials, to teach you how the lymphatic system works, what happens when it’s not functioning as it should and most importantly, all the things you can (and should) do at home to keep on top of this.

Whether you are seeing an MLD therapist or not, the material covered in this course is essential for anyone with a damaged or malfunctioning lymphatic system. It will help you:

• manage swelling
• improve results achieved with your therapist
• help you manage your symptoms if you’re not able to see a therapist
• avoid cellulitis infections
• get your body and your lymphatic system moving
• and manage your stress levels.

The course was designed and produced by Aideen Schweppe, a registered MLD Therapist, Yoga Instructor and Personal Trainer from Ireland.

Inspired by her own Mum’s cancer journey, Aideen trained in the Vodder method of MLD in order to provide the life-long treatment her Mum would need when she developed Lymphedema after having lymph nodes removed from her groin. Ironically though, her Mum has been so successful at managing her symptoms using simple lymphatic drainage (SLD), exercise, nutrition, meditation etc at home, that she’s only needed her daughter’s help once or twice in the last 14 years!

Over her 14 years of clinical practice, helping her clients with both secondary and primary lymphedema, recovery post-cosmetic surgery, chronic inflammation etc, Aideen has always stressed the importance of the home-care techniques and lifestyle tweaks to be implemented at home, in between sessions:

“The importance of home-care cannot be overstated.

Patients who understand how their damaged lymphatic system works, especially the process of anastomosis, muscle pump, hydration etc. have a much higher compliance rate, leading to better results in the clinic.

Over the years I’ve taught my clients all of this, and recorded videos for them as a guide that they can follow at home. I knew it worked, because I watch my Mum’s progress and how she managed her symptoms and her health at home. I had the idea of putting all of this, and more, into an online course, but never had the time to do it. Until the pandemic!

During the lockdowns I finally had the time to learn how to build the courses and I set about filming the content. Now I can help far more people than I could ever see on a 1:1 basis in the clinic. I've combined my skills and experience as an MLD therapist, Yoga Instructor and Personal Trainer into this unique online course.”

The course takes about 2 hours to complete, but you have life-long access, so you can go back and have a look at the videos on simple lymphatic drainage, for example, to ensure you are doing it correctly. And you can repeat the exercise, yoga and meditation videos as often as you like 

Aideen is always on hand to answer questions that might arise as you progress through the course, which will teach you the following:

• how the lymphatic system works
• what happens when it’s been damaged (e.g. when lymph nodes are removed or radiated)
• how to perform simple lymphatic drainage for each drainage area of the body
• how to deal with fibrosis (those firmer areas that form due to pooling of fluid)
• how to deal with genital oedema
• the importance of hydration and nutrition
• how to perform deep diaphragmatic breathing, and how this improves lymphatic flow
• simple exercises to increase lymphatic flow
• simple yoga to increase lymphatic flow
• meditation to help with stress
• how to apply kinesiotape for lymphatic drainage
• how to care for your skin if you have lymphatic issues or swelling

It’s a holistic approach to caring for your lymphatic system, and can really improve the results you get at the clinic, plus give you some control over your symptoms.

The course is also open to therapists who’d like to understand more about the difference between caring for a client with a fully intact lymphatic system versus a damaged one, therapists that don’t have specialised training in caring for their clients post-cancer, and MLD therapists that want to empower their clients to take ownership of their health and their lymphedema at home, improving the results achieved at the clinic.

Therapists, trainers, instructors can leverage off this course to better support their clients. Contact Aideen for more information about opportunities to collaborate with her on this and other projects.

Here’s what some course participants had to say:

Very few therapists encourage the importance of self-care. I'm glad you put it across so well...I've never felt better before than this, even when I was doing CDT (Combined Decongestive Therapy).

- Dr. Kruti Kachalia, Mumbai, India.

I'm really enjoying the course I purchased on Managing my Lymphedema. It's so informative and very helpful. As I had a bilateral mastectomy and auxiliary clearance on both sides, I was finding it hard to manage. But your 'drawings' on your body really help to clarify the different areas for drainage.

Miriam, Ireland

This is a comprehensive and holistic hands-on practical course on how to take charge of your lymphedema and your own body and health. 

It will help you understand, what lymphedema is, how it can affect you, how to prevent or manage it simply, effectively, and most importantly by yourself.  

The practices are simple, don’t require big time or money commitment and can be integrated into your daily life to ensure your lymph system can perform its vital role optimally. 

From proper hydration, and good uncomplicated nutritional advice, to simple lymph drainage techniques, exercise, breathing, meditation, and even yoga for the lymphatic system thrown in, you really have all the bases covered in this course. 

Delivered by Aideen Schweppe, who is passionate about empowering people to take charge of their health and well being. Aideen has vast experience and knowledge of the body and lymphatic system, with a strong emphasis on fitness and holistic health, and wants to get this information out to as many people as possible. She has the perfect combination of skills to help you.

Anne Roche

Roches Wig Centre, Dublin

It was so good to know that there are practical steps to be taken to improve my condition and to give me relief...the programme can be taken step by step and Aideen was there to help me every step of the way. Aideen, THANK YOU for your knowledge and compassion.

- Helen, Ireland

I just want to highlight how incredible this course is! As a cancer survivor with full lymph node removal, I am high risk for lymphoedema, something I have already had the pleasure of experiencing! Aideen has taken a lot of care to produce a beautiful and easy to understand, detailed guide, with videos, which is exactly what I love. I never knew about home-care techniques and they are fantastic.

• Donia, UK

Read more about the course here: www.mld.ie/online course

You can book a consultation and/or tutorial with Aideen online too.

Therapists and trainers, contact Aideen directly for more details.

aideen.schweppe@gmail.com