Manual Lymphatic Drainage
If you are recovering from surgery, managing lymphedema or lipedema, or living with swelling that will not settle, this is our work, and it has been since 1991. Manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) is a light, skin-level medical massage that moves fluid instead of pressing on it. Delivered by Vogel Method-trained therapists across three clinics in Chicago's western suburbs.
4.8 · 1,000+ reviews across Google, Yelp & More
Concerns Manual Lymphatic Drainage Treats
Persistent swelling from a lymphatic system that cannot drain on its own. MLD moves trapped fluid toward lymph nodes that still work, in the order the body needs. For lymphedema, drainage is one part of a longer management program, not a cure.
View Concern →Less swelling
Trapped fluid moved out of the tissue, so limbs feel lighter
Softer tissue
Hardness after surgery or liposuction eased over a course
Easier movement
Less heaviness and restriction, more comfortable range
Calm recovery
A light, skin-level technique your body rests into
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 lymphatic drainage isn't the right first call
Contraindications: we refer you on
Some conditions are outside our scope, and we will refer you.
- • We do not treat AFib, COPD, emphysema, blood clots, or active infection
- • Those belong in a hospital lymphedema clinic with emergency care on site
- • We point you there directly; this is proper scope, not a hedge
- • A seroma is managed by your physician first, with our drainage as support only
We screen at consultation
We screen at your first visit and re-check at every session.
- • Your therapist screens for these conditions at your first consultation
- • We review any health changes each visit and re-screen if something changes
- • Prenatal care needs a note from your doctor first
- • For cancer treatment, we coordinate timing with your care team before booking
Sometimes a different path is the better start
Drainage is not always the right starting point.
- • For lymphedema, CDT may lead the plan with drainage as one part
- • For a seroma, your physician's management comes first
- • We tell you honestly whether this work helps and where it fits
- • Your therapist says so at intake if a different path is right
What your visit can do.
Every session follows your anatomy and your condition, never a fixed routine. Every plan starts with an assessment, because everyone is different.
Your therapist looks at how your body is draining, takes any baseline the plan needs, and walks you through what that session will cover. A full manual lymphatic drainage session runs 70 minutes, and the first visit includes this assessment, so plan a little extra time. Nothing happens without your say so.
Details+
- • Health history, prior surgeries, current conditions, medications
- • A drainage assessment of how the fluid is moving
- • Candidacy screen against the contraindications list
- • The plan for the session, explained before it begins
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
Real stories, real reviews.
Patient stories shared with consent. Every experience is individual, and results vary from person to person.
Post-surgical swelling
Lymphedema
Lipedema
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 if lymphatic drainage is right for you?
That is a fair question, and we would rather answer it honestly than book you blindly. Call us, tell us what is going on, and we will say plainly whether this work can help. If it can, we will get you in at the clinic nearest you: Hinsdale, Downers Grove, or Joliet.