Complete Decongestive Therapy
A leg or arm that has stayed swollen for months. A garment that stops fitting by afternoon. Complete Decongestive Therapy is the recognized conservative program for lymphedema, and for many patients it brings the swelling down and keeps it manageable. Delivered by Vogel Method-trained therapists across three clinics in Chicago's western suburbs.
4.8 · 1,000+ reviews across Google, Yelp & More
Concerns Complete Decongestive Therapy Treats
Persistent swelling from a lymphatic system that cannot drain on its own. CDT is the recognized conservative standard for managing it, bringing the limb down and holding it there over a course of care.
View Concern →Reduced limb volume
The intensive phase brings the swelling down as far as the tissue allows
Held between sessions
Compression and home care keep the limb at its reduced volume
Protected skin
Planned skin care lowers the infection risk swollen tissue carries
Measured progress
Limb measurements through both phases show whether the plan is holding
Why patients choose NLC.
Founder Sharon M. Vogel has spent more than three decades devoted to lymphatic drainage. A Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Lymphedema Therapist and Board-Certified in Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (LMT, CLT, BCTMB), she developed the Vogel Method and founded National Lymphatic Centers in 1991. Today her team of certified therapists carries that same standard across three clinics in Chicago's western suburbs: Hinsdale, Downers Grove and Joliet.
When CDT belongs somewhere else
Severe or acute cases belong in a hospital
Severe or acute cases need a hospital, not our clinic.
- • A severe or acute flare belongs at a hospital lymphedema clinic
- • A weeping or acutely infected limb needs emergency care on site
- • Cases needing emergency-capable monitoring go to the hospital
- • Sharon teaches this directly; we guide you there rather than book blindly
Contraindications: we refer you on
Some conditions are outside our scope, and we will refer you.
- • We do not perform this work on AFib, COPD, emphysema, blood clots, or active infection
- • These are outside our scope of care
- • Some belong in a hospital setting
- • This is appropriate scope of practice, not a hedge
We manage, we do not diagnose or operate
We provide conservative care and stay within it.
- • We do not diagnose lymphedema and we do not perform surgery
- • If a physician has diagnosed you, bring that to your first visit
- • In cancer treatment, we coordinate timing with your care team before booking
- • Lymphedema is chronic, so CDT manages it rather than curing it
The four parts of CDT, and the two phases they run in.
Start with a consultation. You might just be puffy or bloated, or have slight edema or lymphedema that can be managed with a wonderful lymph drainage massage. Complete Decongestive Therapy is a coordinated program rather than a single technique. Four parts move fluid out and keep it out, delivered across an intensive phase and then a maintenance phase, mapped to your limb at the assessment.
No two cases of lymphedema present the same way, so the session starts with a drainage assessment and a baseline set of measurements before any routine is set. Measuring the limb over time turns progress into something you can see. Nothing happens without your say so.
Details+
- • Health history, prior surgeries, current conditions, medications
- • A drainage assessment of how the fluid is moving
- • Baseline limb measurements tracked through both phases
- • Candidacy screen against the contraindications list
The work, explained by Sharon
The full team.
Hover to read each name. Certified care across all three Illinois clinics, every session to the Vogel Method standard.
Sharon M. Vogel
LMT · CLT · CDT · BCTMB · CVMLD™
All three clinics
Abdul Alagha
LMT · CLT · LANA
Downers Grove
Ludmila Lynch
LMT · CVMLD™ · CLT
Joliet
Stephanie Kos
LMT · CVMLD™ · CLT · LET
Hinsdale
Hana Echevarria
LMT · OMT · CDT
Downers Grove
Ricky Sharma
LMT · CVMLD™ · MLD
Downers Grove
Sharon M. Vogel
LMT · CLT · CDT · BCTMB · CVMLD™
All three clinics
Abdul Alagha
LMT · CLT · LANA
Downers Grove
Ludmila Lynch
LMT · CVMLD™ · CLT
Joliet
Stephanie Kos
LMT · CVMLD™ · CLT · LET
Hinsdale
Hana Echevarria
LMT · OMT · CDT
Downers Grove
Ricky Sharma
LMT · CVMLD™ · MLD
Downers Grove
What patients tell us
4.8★ across 1,000+ reviews on Google, Yelp & More
“The Vogel Method is the only manual lymphatic massage that has decreased my joint swelling and improved my quality of life. I am willing to drive over an hour to see Sharon and team. She keeps my vertigo and joint swelling at bay.”
Mary H.
Google · joint swelling & vertigo · May 2026
Three Illinois clinics.
Reserve your visit.
No referral needed.
Choose a therapist and a time that works for you, at any of our three Illinois clinics. Same-specialty care, whether it is your first visit or your tenth.
See pricingA self-pay clinic, with a superbill for your insurer.
We do not bill insurance directly. For medically necessary lymphatic therapy, we provide an itemized superbill you can submit to your insurer for possible reimbursement. Coverage varies by plan, so check with your provider.
Have questions about referrals or reimbursement? Our front desk is happy to help. 630-828-6582
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Not sure whether CDT is the right fit?
That is a fair question, and we would rather answer it honestly than book you blindly. Call us, tell us what the limb has been doing, and we will say plainly whether Complete Decongestive Therapy can help or whether a hospital lymphedema clinic is the safer fit. If we can help, we will get you in at the clinic nearest you: Hinsdale, Downers Grove, or Joliet.