The
Galician Association of Lymphoedema, Lipedema, Chronic Venous
Insufficiency and other Peripheral Vascular Pathologies (AGL) has
resumed the continuation of the
project "Specialized
Physiotherapy Service for
Lymphoedema and Lipedema", which
started
in January this year.
This
project which
is
subsidized
by
the Xunta de Galicia (Galician
Government)
and the ONCE Foundation through income tax funds, had to make a stop
because of COVID-19, but now it is restarting with all
the
necessary hygiene
and
health
measures.
AGL develops this project in different Councils of Galicia (North-West Autonomous Region in Spain), in order to improve the skills and personal autonomy of each participant through social and labor integration. Currently, there are 90 people who come to the specialized service for the treatment of lymphedema and lipedema, which are located in 13 specialized clinics located in the municipalities of: La Coruña, Lugo, Ourense, Pontevedra, Vigo, Vilagarcía de Arousa, Santiago de Compostela , Ferrol, Culleredo and Baio.
In AGL we noted that the three months of stoppage in the treatments had adverse effects for many of the users of the program. Despite the daily self-care program they carried out at home, they felt an aggravation of their lymphedema, which confirms the need for this service to improve the day-to-day life of people who have this disease.
Lymphedema is consequence of a dysfunction in the Lymphatic System. It is a chronic, progressive and slowly evolving disease, that can become very serious. It proportionally affects more women than men. Currently there are no effective drugs or resolvable surgical interventions, and specialized Physiotherapy treatment has shown to be effective in preventing the worsening of the disease.
References:
