Hip & PelvisManual Lymphatic DrainageGeneral regional overview
PNA Regional Principles · Overview
Hip & Pelvis — Manual Lymphatic Drainage
What changes when Manual Lymphatic Drainage meets the hip & pelvis? Start with the patient's movement, assess safely, and see what the re-test reveals.
1 specific variationsClinical re-test built in
Important: this is a clinical framework, not a complete technique protocol.
This page was generated from broader regional principles. It can help you frame assessment, patient comfort, safety and reassessment, but its generic positioning, contact and dosage text must not be treated as technique-specific hands-on instruction. Study a detailed, individually authored procedure and use supervised practical training.
Each variation below is written so you can follow patient setup, contact, direction, dose and the re-test that decides whether the technique earned a place in the plan.
01
Hip & PelvisInguinal/lower-trunk territories
Lower-Trunk/Proximal Preparation
One question matters more than the name of this variation: will the patient notice a useful change in Swelling/heaviness and skin response? The careful re-test gets the final word.
The change we are looking for
Prepare proximal drainage pathways
Primary target
Inguinal/lower-trunk territories
The movement that tells us
Swelling/heaviness and skin response
Patient focus
Prepare proximal drainage pathways
Therapist verifies
Swelling/heaviness and skin response
Success signal
Keep the technique only if the re-test shows a meaningful improvement in swelling/heaviness and skin response without symptom worsening.
Full clinical application
1
Position the patient
Supine, prone or side-lying with pelvis stabilized.
2
Set the contact
Region-specific contact over Inguinal/lower-trunk territories using the parent technique principles.
3
Apply the technique
Very light rhythmic skin stretch
4
Dose & re-test
Use a conservative response-guided trial and reassess before repeating. Re-test: Swelling/heaviness and skin response
Safety / do not apply when…
Screen fracture, severe OA irritability, postoperative restrictions, acute inflammatory pathology and red-flag pelvic symptoms.
Do not treat unexplained acute swelling; exclude cellulitis, untreated DVT and acute decompensated heart failure.
Stop or modify if symptoms peripheralize, neurological status worsens, the response is disproportionate or the patient asks to stop.
Clinical rule
A technically correct technique is not automatically a useful technique. Keep it only when the patient's pain, range or function improves in a clinically meaningful way, then transfer that gain into active movement, loading or self-management.
