What is the difference between medical massage and a regular massage?

Medical massage is aimed at a specific problem you came in for, like recurring pain, tension, or post-surgical swelling. Your therapist assesses the area and works it with a plan, rather than running a fixed relaxation routine. At National Lymphatic Centers, that often includes lymphatic drainage.

Does medical massage hurt?

It should not. Deeper myofascial work stays within what your body can take, and lymphatic drainage is gentle by design, since pressing on swelling hurts and does not move it. Tell your therapist if anything feels tender and we adjust the pressure.

Is manual lymphatic drainage a type of medical massage?

At National Lymphatic Centers, yes. Sharon Vogel practices manual lymphatic drainage as medical massage, and much of our medical massage work is drainage. When fluid and inflammation are part of the problem, gentle drainage often helps more than deep pressure.

Can medical massage help after surgery?

Often, yes. Post-surgical stiffness, swelling, and hardened tissue are common reasons patients book. We time the work to your recovery and coordinate with your surgeon's guidance. Always clear any post-op massage with your surgeon first.

Can it help with fibrosis after liposuction?

It can. Supportive, tissue-directed work can help soften hardened, uneven areas that sometimes follow liposuction. Results vary from patient to patient, and this responds best over a short series. Your therapist assesses the area before any work begins.

Who should not have medical massage?

Patients with AFib, COPD, emphysema, blood clots, or an active infection should not have this work with us. Those are medical conditions that are outside our scope of care. Every session at our Hinsdale, Downers Grove, and Joliet clinics starts with a health review, so we flag anything before we begin.

How many sessions will I need?

It varies with what brought you in. A single session can bring real relief, and recurring tension, pain, or fluid tends to respond better over a short series. This is why we offer packages of 3, 5, and 10. Your therapist maps the cadence at your assessment.

How long is a medical massage session?

Session lengths vary by what your plan calls for. Your first visit includes a health review and an assessment before any hands-on work, so plan a little extra time for it. Current session options and prices are on our pricing page.

Do I need a referral or prescription?

Most patients do not need one to book medical massage. If you are recovering from surgery, we ask you to clear massage with your surgeon first. If you are in cancer treatment, we coordinate timing with your care team before booking.

The Vogel Method · Since 1991

Medical Massage

Pain that keeps coming back. Tension that a regular rub-down never reaches. Swelling and stiffness after surgery. Medical massage is targeted, therapeutic work aimed at the thing that actually brought you in. Delivered by therapists trained in manual lymphatic drainage and medical massage across three clinics in Chicago's western suburbs.

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35 years of clinical practiceFounder Sharon M. Vogel, LMT · CLT · CDT3 Illinois locationsPhysician-referred · BBB A+

What Brings You In

Concerns Medical Massage Treats

Tissue that stayed tight, heavy, or swollen after an operation and is slowing how quickly you feel like yourself. Medical massage combines targeted work with gentle drainage timed to your recovery, so healing has room to progress. We coordinate with your surgeon's guidance.

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Less pain

Targeted work returns to the structure causing the trouble, so an area feels looser and less painful

Lighter tissue

Trapped fluid moved out where drainage does more than deep pressure, so heaviness eases

Softer areas

Hardened, uneven tissue after surgery or liposuction eased over a short course

Calm recovery

Purposeful work that is never punishing, and many patients nearly fall asleep on the table

The NLC Experience

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.

Honest Scope

When medical massage 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 perform lymphatic or medical massage on AFib, COPD, emphysema, blood clots, or active infection
• These are outside our scope of care
• Some belong in a hospital lymphedema clinic where emergency care is on site
• In those cases we guide you there rather than treat you; proper scope, not a hedge

We screen at consultation

Every session opens with a health review before we begin.

• Each visit at our Hinsdale, Downers Grove, and Joliet clinics starts with a health review
• If you are recovering from surgery, clear massage with your surgeon first
• In cancer treatment, we coordinate timing with your care team before booking
• If your health changes, we pause and re-screen before the next session

Sometimes a different technique fits better

The right technique depends on the problem, not a fixed routine.

• Some problems call for firmer myofascial work on the tissue
• Others need the light, siphoning strokes of drainage, and many need both in order
• When fluid and inflammation are involved, gentle drainage often beats deep pressure
• Your therapist assesses first and says plainly which approach fits

Medical Massage Process

How a medical massage session runs, start to finish.

The room is quiet and nothing happens without your say so. Your therapist asks permission before any work begins. Every session follows your anatomy and your condition, never a set script.

Step 01 · Assess

Reviewed and assessed before anyone touches your skin.

Your therapist looks at the area you came in for, how it moves, and where it holds tension or fluid, then sets the plan for that session. Your first visit includes this assessment, so plan a little extra time.

Details+

• Health history, prior surgeries, current conditions, medications
• A look at the area you came in for and how it moves
• Candidacy screen against the contraindications list
• The plan for the session, confirmed before it begins

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Reviewed and assessed before anyone touches your skin.

From the Vogel Method

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