Rebecca Elwell: Demystifying compression therapy

We know that if we intervene early that we can hopefully prevent some of the more serious complications that can arise with end-stage venous and lymphatic disease, so we're looking particularly in our workshop about the different types of compression, how compression impacts upon the anatomy and physiology of the legs, what types of compression there are, so we're looking at the different things that are available, so compression bandaging, intermittent pneumatic compression, compression hosiery, leg ulcer hosiery kits. We're looking at how we can explain to patients how these work and why that's important so that they will understand why they need to wear it and hopefully adhere to wearing it then because it's comfortable. We're looking at ways of getting the garments on and off, the way of prescribing and measuring for those garments and a little bit around some of the experience that we've had with compression garments in treating lymphedema which can be different to venous disease and leg ulceration. So some of the garments are different, they're more of a hybrid so we're able to tell them about those things. I think probably what happens is that chronic swelling has played a poor sister to wounds really. I think that's been the bit that's brought people to those leg clubs. The wound has actually meant that they've ended up there. But then we're getting much better at identifying those patients that have got lymphedema or chronic swelling and actually then knowing the importance of treating the swelling as well as the wound and perhaps actually trying to treat the swelling before people end up with wounds. So maybe there's some prevention that we can look at there at some point.