Emil Vodder

Emil Vodder (born February 20, 1896 in Copenhagen ; † February 17, 1986 there ) was a Danish physiotherapist . Together with his wife Estrid Vodder (* 1898; † January 15, 1996) he developed manual lymphatic drainage .

Emil Vodder with his wife Estrid

Life

Doctor of Philosophy

After graduating from high school, Emil Vodder studied art history and comparative language studies as well as eight semesters of medicine . However, he could not finish his studies because of malaria and turned to physical therapy . He became interested in the lymphatic system at an early age and read the writings of Bartholin , Carrel and Cecil Drinker. In 1928 he was awarded the title of Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. phil.) By the University of Brussels on the basis of a dissertation in art history . In 1929 he went to France with his wife Estrid, who became a naturopath in Berlin in 1923 .

The birth of manual lymphatic drainage

Manual lymph drainage (ML) is a special form of medical massage that is intended to stimulate drainage of the fluid that has accumulated in the tissue ( lymph ). It is used for swellings caused by injuries or operations or caused by malformations of the lymphatic system or joint diseases . The basic features of lymphatic drainage were first used by Alexander von Winiwarter and Johann von Esmarch at the end of the 19th century . Vodder had developed an exact technique from this idea in the 1930s.

In 1932 Vodder worked as a masseur on the Côte d'Azur in France, where many Englishmen with swollen cervical lymph nodes were staying for a cure. Vodder and his wife Estrid saw and felt congestion in the subcutis and associated lymphatic tracts in patients with chronic catarrhal infections of the upper airways . Contrary to all the rules of medical teaching of the time (lymph nodes were not allowed to be touched under any circumstances and especially not when they were swollen) they were able to drain these congestion with pumping, circular and stroking movements. This success prompted Vodder to also treat lymph nodes in other parts of the body. In 1933 the Vodder couple moved to Paris . Vodder met with the important lymphatic anatomist Henri Rouvière (1876–1952) and acquired the book "Die Anatomie der Lymphgefäß" ( anatomy, physiology, pathology des vaisseaux lymphatiques. Paris 1874–1875) by Marie Philibert Constant Sappey (1810–1896) ). The Vodder lymphatic drainage grips with their order and their pressure towards the heart are based on these Sappeyian representations to this day.

For a long time, the “non-medical” Vodder had great difficulties authenticating his new technology . Manual lymphatic drainage was classified as alternative medicine and was therefore not accepted by many doctors and scientists. In 1936 Vodder presented his method for the first time at the world exhibition "Exposition de Beauté" in Paris. In the same year he secured priority through publications in the "Révue d'hygiène individuelle" and in the Danish magazine "Ny Tid og Vi" . In 1939, when the Second World War broke out , the Vodder couple had to leave France and return to Denmark. Only years later - in the 1950s - Emil Vodder traveled to many European countries and gave lectures. Together with his wife Estrid, he trained therapists who further spread the technique. A school was also founded in Austria to train lymphatic drainage therapists. In 1958, the first course in manual lymph drainage according to Dr. Vodder instead.

Acquaintance with Johannes Asdonk

In 1963 the German doctor Johannes Asdonk got to know manual lymph drainage through his future wife Christa Bartetzko. Bartetzko was a beautician and at that time employed as a doctor's assistant in Asdonk's practice. She had attended an ML course with Emil Vodder. Asdonk himself learned the techniques of this gentle manual therapy, which Vodder had already published in 1936, but which had not yet found its way into conventional medicine, in 1964 at Vodder in Copenhagen . Asdonk was able to do a lot of research and thus helped to add the scientific elements that also give space for this treatment technique in the medical sense. In his general practice in food Asdonk put the manual lymph drainage in connection with the practice of his chiropractic with great success. In 1966, Asdonk and Vodder held one-week lymphatic drainage courses for the first time in Essen, in which both physiotherapists and beauticians (e.g. cellulite and light skin impurities should also be combated by ML) were trained.

Introduction to conventional medicine

In 1967 the "Society for Manual Lymph Drainage by Dr. Vodder ”was founded by Emil Vodder, Johannes Asdonk and Günther Wittlinger, a masseur from Walchsee , among others . The society held annual scientific and practical workshops with the aim of proving the effectiveness of manual lymphatic drainage. In 1976 the "German Society for Lymphology" emerged from it. In 1969 Asdonk founded the first real school in Essen to train physiotherapists in manual lymphatic drainage, in which the Vodder couple were also employed as teachers. The increasing number of lymphedema patients encouraged Asdonk to found the world's first specialist lymphology clinic in the Black Forest in 1972 . Due to his outstanding success in the treatment of lymphedema , manual lymphatic drainage therapy became standard in 1974 and was therefore paid for by the health insurances. The inclusion of manual lymphatic drainage in conventional medicine was primarily due to the doctors Johannes Asdonk and Michael Földi , both of whom were former close collaborators of Emil Vodder. They promoted the spread of manual lymphatic drainage, especially through their schools for aspiring lymphatic therapists. Against fierce opposition, a therapeutic method established today was introduced into medicine.

The first textbook on manual lymphatic drainage by Dr. Vodder was written by Günther and Hildegard Wittlinger at the suggestion of Emil Vodder and published by Haug Verlag Heidelberg in 1978.

In the 1990s, manual lymphatic drainage, bandaging, edema gymnastics and skin care were introduced as part of the so-called complex physical decongestion therapy (CPE) for the treatment of lymphedema of the arm and leg.

Award

On November 13, 1984, Emil Vodder was awarded the Wilhelm Rohrbach Medal. This award is given by the Association of Physical Therapy (VPT) in recognition of special merits in the field of physical and massage therapy. Emil Vodder was the eighth recipient of this medal.

Award of the Rohrbach Medal by Mr. Blum

Personal

Emil Vodder's wife Estrid, who had supported him over the years and accompanied him to a series of lectures, died ten years after her husband, shortly before her 100th birthday. Their son Arne Vodder (1926–2009), an architect, lived in Copenhagen.

Web links

• Literature by and about Emil Vodder in the catalog of the German National Library
• Wittlinger et al .: Manual lymph drainage according to Dr. Vodder - completely revised edition. Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-13-140071-0

Individual evidence

1. ↑ springer.com The findings of the great doctor Winiwarter were not followed up
2. ↑ Beginning of manual lymphatic drainage ( memento of the original from July 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Barbara I. Tshisuaka: Sappey, Marie Philibert Constant. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 1285.
4. ↑ 30 years of the German Society for Lymphology 1976–2006  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF)  
5. ↑ Obituary for Dr med. Johannes Asdonk ( Memento of the original from September 26, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ history . In: gfmlv.at .
7. ↑ First lymphological specialist clinic (Feldbergklinik) ( Memento of the original from August 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ The History of Lymph Drainage ( Memento of the original from January 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ^ Emil Vodder - First President of the Association AIDMOV ( Memento of the original from January 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.