Technology guide
Pressotherapy: sequential pneumatic compression
Pressotherapy inflates and deflates compartments around the legs, arms or stomach to boost circulation. Principle, settings and its place alongside manual drainage.
Definition
Pressotherapy uses leg sleeves, arm sleeves or belts with compartments that fill with air in turn, from the bottom upwards. This rhythmic compression helps venous blood and lymph back towards the heart.
The principles at work
Three effects combine: a pressure gradient that pushes fluids upwards, a pump effect that mimics contraction of the calf muscles, and a drop in tissue pressure that helps accumulated fluid reach the vessels. The compartments overlap to prevent any backflow.
What it brings
Better venous return, boosted lymphatic drainage, mobilised fluids, less congested and better oxygenated tissues. The client often feels a sensation of lightness by the end of the session.
Settings
Maximum pressure, number of compartments, mode (sequential or progressive), cycle length, session length and session frequency. Always start with low pressure to check comfort, then adjust. Temporary marks left by the compartments are normal and disappear quickly.
Pressotherapy and manual drainage
Manual lymphatic drainage remains the benchmark for its finesse. Pressotherapy offers other advantages: reproducible settings, no lengthy training and more clients seen per day. The two combine well, as do pressotherapy and palper-rouler.
Precautions
No treatment of the abdomen during pregnancy; for the legs, ask for the doctor's approval. Heart failure, phlebitis, infection or wound on the area, untreated cancer: medical advice is mandatory before any session.