Danish Dr. Emil Vodder (20 February 1896 - 17 February 1986) and his wife Dr. Estrid Vodder proposed the

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and ...

practice of "

lymphology The lymphatic system, or lymphoid system, is an organ system in vertebrates that is part of the immune system, and complementary to the circulatory system. It consists of a large network of lymphatic vessels, lymph nodes, lymphatic or lymphoid o ...

". While working on the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation "Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from ...

treating patients with chronic colds, they noticed these patients had swollen

lymph nodes A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphocytes that incl ...

. The Vodders in 1932 began to study the lymph system, and developed careful hand movements to cause lymph movement. In 1936 after four years of research they introduced this technique to the world in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, France. They spent the rest of their lives demonstrating and teaching this method. This careful hand movement that stretches and twists the skin to move the lymph is taught in its unaltered form today and is the gold standard for

Manual lymphatic drainage Manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) is a type of massage based on the hypothesis that it will encourage the natural drainage of the lymph, which carries waste products away from the tissues back toward the heart. The lymph system depends on intrinsic ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vodder, Emil 1896 births 1986 deaths 20th-century Danish physicians