Honigman L, Bar-Bachar O, Yarnitsky D, Sprecher E, Granovsky Y. Nonpainful wide-area compression inhibits experimental pain. Pain. 2016 Sep;157(9):2000-2011. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000604. PMID: 27152691; PMCID: PMC4988085. This study found that gentle, nonpainful lymphatic drainage pneumatic compression over a large body area reduced experimentally induced pain in healthy adults, indicating that large area compression may have a pain-relieving effect beyond its role in edema reduction. The researchers referred to this effect as “compression induced analgesia.”

This study tested objectively whether pneumatic compression therapy, like the kind used in lymphatic drainage or pneumatic compression therapy, could reduce pain. Researchers studied 30 healthy adults and gave them controlled painful heat and pressure sensations on the arm or wrist. Pneumatic compression was then applied with Lympha Press® Optimal Plus and Lympha Pants®. While the participants received compression to different areas of the lower body—up to the ankles, knees, or hips—the researchers measured whether the painful sensations felt less intense. The compression itself was not painful. The main finding was that compression helped reduce pain, especially when a larger area was compressed. Compression up to the hips reduced heat pain more than compression only up to the ankles, and all compression levels reduced pressure pain in participants who had enough baseline pain to measure a change. The study also found that the pain-relieving effect was related to the body’s natural “pain inhibits pain” system, called conditioned pain modulation. The findings suggest that pneumatic compression of the type used for lymphatic drainage helps calm pain signals as well as supporting lymphatic and venous circulation. These findings have been confirmed in studies with Lympha Press® in patient populations, showing that pneumatic compression reduces pain in individuals with lipedema, in particular. Link to Herbst 2024, Esmer 2023, Esmer 2024, Szolnoky 2011. Quote from study: “This study is the first to demonstrate that large-body area mild lymphatic drainage therapy compression exerts an analgesic effect on experimental pain stimuli. We suggest that compression induced analgesia shares similar mechanisms with various facets of inhibitory pain modulation.”

Link to study: Nonpainful wide-area compression inhibits experimental pain - PMC