E-Newsletters
Welcome to our third e-newsletter
It was good to see some interaction with our previous discussions and debates arising out of our last e-newsletter. We are aware, however, that while many of you are looking at the information and discussions, most of you are not logging in and becoming actively (interactively) involved in the discussion. It's the latter that we really want to see, we value your views and ideas, nothing is silly or useless, each comment or viewpoint will make us think more clearly, question much of what we do and the reasons for it.
To encourage more interaction we will award a free one-year subscription to the Journal of Lymphoedema for the best idea or comment posted on the website between now and the next Conference which will be held on April 13th at the Novotel in London.
Lymphoedema Conference 2011 and Skin Changes in the Lower Limb Conference Novotel London West, One Shortlands, London W6 8DR Two unique conferences in one venue where delegates can choose to select sessions from either programme. The main objective of these conferences is to achieve care improvements and to help achieve this, experts in the field of lymphoedema management will discuss and share their experiences. |
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In preparation for what we are sure will be a very simulating conference I've listed some points for debate below. These are mine but I want to see yours!
Depending on your interest and enthusiasm for them we will pursue some of them at the conference similar to our last debate in 2010 on 'Manual lymphatic drainage (MLD): friend or foe?'. In 2011, we intend to make the debate much more interactive, with additional involvement from the audience as well as the panel. While all the topics are certainly serious, we hope to present them in an entertaining and enlightening format. Come along and contribute, learn from your colleagues and have a bit of fun as you learn. We hope to have a prize for the best comment. This will be announced at the meeting in London at the Novotel on 13th April, 2011.
Before you go to the debate site, think for a moment.
Write down now on a sheet of paper, one or two but up to five issues or questions you have regarding something you do (or cannot or do not do), or would like an answer for with respect to your work or practice.
What is the most important one to you? Will it make a difference to the way your practice, your patient outcomes, your knowledge generally?
Now let us know what it is - go to the debate site and enter the question or comment. If it's an issue for you, it's likely to be an issue for others. The good thing about logging your question is that others may have the answer, it just needs you to put your point in and for them to see it and pass comment. It's an easy way of improving your knowledge, improving patient care, and importantly, improving your network of contacts.
Do it now - there are three rewards, your question is answered (you may find you can answer the questions of others), you may expand your contact network, and you may win a year's free subscription to JOL
Just to start you off, here are my current issues.
It seems from the work of some top level English researchers that those women who develop lymphoedema have lower intra-lymphatic pressures than those who do not. Chicken and egg or is it real? If so, how can we recognise those at risk with a low intralymphatic pressure (or low pump pressure?)
Why do we have to have lymphoedema at all? Why can’t we better protect the lymphatics from unnecessary surgical or radiotherapeutical injury or help them regrow quicker?
Why are we reluctant to change our practices?
There seem to be many new ideas and strategies and tools for the treatment of lymphoedema in the literature, some with reasonable evidence and trial support behind them, but we seem most often to continue with the strategies and programmes we learnt at university or in the therapist training schools. However, some of these things are not as well or strongly evidenced as the newer techniques.
My question is how much does it take for us as thinking therapists and clinicians to change our practice? What’s going to make us change?
My curiosity at the moment stems from an article ‘Canaries in the coal mine: A cross Species analysis of the plurality of obesity epidemics’ (Klimentidis et al, 2010). We know obesity is a risk factor for lymphoedema and becoming an increasing problem, but did you know that as we fatten up so to do the animals around us? Why? Are we feeding them more, are there more of us feeding, is the food we feed them more fattening? Maybe they can teach us a lot ! Will it help us reduce our prevalence of lymphoedema? Unsure, but remember the butterflies in the forests of the Amazon.....
In the meantime, we look forward to your comments on the website, we hope you can be one of the winners of a year’s free subscription to our journal (even if you are a current subscriber, you get a year extension).
Just ask us and we will give you the answer. Too busy? It will only take an extra two or three minutes and you may help others, their patients or even better, help fill in a gap in your knowledge or just satisfy your curiosity!
Neil Piller
Clinical Editor, Journal of Lymphoedema
Reference:
Klimentidis YC, Beasley MT, Lin H-Y, et al (2010) Canaries in the coal mine: a cross-species analysis of the plurality of obesity epidemics. Proc R Soc, published online 24 November 2010
