{"title":"Pneumatic compression therapy in Dudelange","content":"**Pressotherapy is sequential pneumatic compression: sleeves inflate from the extremity of the limb towards its root to help venous and lymphatic return. At the Pôle Equilibre & Santé practice, Bloc A, 48 Rue de la Libération in Dudelange, it often prolongs [manual lymphatic drainage](/dudelange/competence/drainage-lymphatique). It does not replace it and is not a slimming treatment.**\n\n## Distal to proximal: a direction that matters\n\nThe chambers inflate one after another, from the foot towards the hip or from the hand towards the shoulder. Compression that is too strong, too early or poorly sequenced can push oedema towards the groin, the axilla or the trunk. The setting (pressure, cycle duration, leg or arm accessory) is therefore clinical, not cosmetic.\n\nThe intended effect is circulatory and draining. Pressotherapy does not make you lose weight and does not act on cellulite as a shop-window argument.\n\nCommon reasons are lymphoedema (including after lymph-node dissection), venous insufficiency with heavy legs, certain post-operative oedemas when the assessment allows it, and, as an adjunct, recovery after a long effort. A feeling of heavy legs is not necessarily lymphoedema: the diagnosis precedes the sleeves.\n\n## What the consensus statements allow\n\nThe 2020 International Society of Lymphology consensus places intermittent pneumatic compression **alongside** drainage, garments and exercise — not in their place. APTA recommendations (2020) on breast-cancer-related lymphoedema go the same way: volume and comfort can improve, especially in combination. Rockson (*New England Journal of Medicine*, 2018) recalls that lymphoedema care is multimodal; a sleeve alone does not hold the file.\n\nOften the boots or the sleeve come just after manual drainage, to prolong its effect. Used in isolation, the technique can shift fluid too high if the setting is poorly chosen.\n\n## Contraindications to rule out at the assessment\n\nAcute deep-vein thrombosis, erysipelas or another skin infection, decompensated heart failure, a large open wound: we do not fit the sleeves. Also mention unusual calf pain, a hot calf, sudden breathlessness, anticoagulant treatment or severe neuropathy (you might not feel pressure that is too strong).\n\n## Fifteen to twenty-five minutes, lying down\n\nTypical duration: **15 to 25 minutes**, often about twenty, lying down. A sensation of rhythmic massage, sometimes a little tight at the end of inflation. Any pain, pins and needles, breathlessness or malaise leads us to lower or stop.\n\nClothing: shorts or trousers easy to remove, socks off. Clean skin. Prescription, reports (surgery, cancer, veins), list of anticoagulants. Empty the bladder first. If a garment (stocking, sleeve) has been prescribed, bring it: we often put it back on just after, so as not to leave the limb without compression.\n\nAfter deflation, get up slowly. Driving is generally possible. Gentle walking is desirable: muscle is a pump. A standing job of several hours is not erased by the boots; garments and breaks remain the foundation. In sport, pressotherapy can help recovery; it does not validate a return.\n\nResults: a lighter feeling **the same day** is common. Lymphoedema is judged over weeks, with drainage, garments and exercise.\n\n## Frequently asked questions\n\n\nHow should I prepare and what should I wear?
\n\nClothing that comes off easily over the legs or the arm, clean skin, prescription and vascular or oncology reports. Mention an anticoagulant, calf pain, a wound or new breathlessness. Empty the bladder first. Bring your garment if it is prescribed.\n\n \n\n\nHow long does one stay in the sleeves?
\n\nFifteen to twenty-five minutes, lying down, often after manual drainage.\n\n \n\n\nIs it uncomfortable, and is there a risk when getting up?
\n\nPressure stays moderate and is adjusted. This is not a tourniquet. Get up slowly. Calf pain, malaise or breathlessness stop the session and lead to reassessment.\n\n \n\n\nDoes it make you lose weight, and what if it hurts?
\n\nNo. The effect is not weight loss. If it hurts, we deflate. Pain is not a sign that the technique is working better.\n\n \n\n\nCan I drive, and when can I resume sport or work?
\n\nAfter getting up quietly, driving is generally possible. Standing work: garments and breaks count more than the boots. Sport: possibly in recovery, not as a return-to-play criterion.\n\n \n\n\nWhat contraindications, what timelines, is it reimbursed?
\n\nAcute thrombosis, erysipelas, a decompensated heart, a large wound: no session. Relief the same day is possible; lymphoedema is judged over weeks, in combination. On medical prescription, the [CNS](https://cns.public.lu/) covers the session according to the usual rules. The practice handles the paperwork. See [the physiotherapy consultation](/dudelange/kinesitherapie/consultation-kine).\n\n \n\n\nHow can I book an appointment?
\n\nBy phone on [+352 26 65 15 33](tel:+35226651533). Practice at Bloc A, 48 Rue de la Libération, L-3511 Dudelange — [Contact & access](/dudelange/contact).\n\n \n\n## Find out more\n\n- [Lymphatic drainage](/dudelange/competence/drainage-lymphatique)\n- [Our skills](/dudelange/competences)\n- [Our equipment](/dudelange/equipement)\n\n"}