Which of the following is an indication for manual therapy related to edema?

• A. Increase edema
• B. No change in edema
• C. Decrease edema
• D. Cause edema

Answer: (C)

An edema-focused manual therapy plan is aimed at reducing swelling by promoting lymphatic and venous return. When swelling is present and the goal is to lessen tissue fluid, techniques like gentle lymph drainage help move fluid toward proximal lymph nodes, often in combination with compression and active movement. So the best indication is to decrease edema, because that’s the outcome these manual techniques are designed to achieve. Increasing edema would worsen symptoms, and no change or causing edema would not be appropriate indications for this therapy.