Meet the Founder
Sharon Vogel, lymphatic drainage therapist and founder.
You want a therapist who understands the lymphatic system deeply and knows exactly how to move fluid the way your body does. Sharon Vogel has spent more than three decades building that practice across Chicagoland's western suburbs.
Experience
More than three decades in lymphatic care.
Sharon M. Vogel opened National Lymphatic Centers in 1991 and built the Vogel Method of manual lymphatic drainage over the decades since. She trains NLC staff and other licensed therapists in the technique through CEU education at the Vogel Institute of Lymphology and chairs the Illinois Chapter of the Lymphatic Education and Research Network. Mostly, the first visit is with her for evaluation, assessment, 70 min session and then a treatment plan with the right staff therapist for you.
- Certified Lymphedema Therapist (CLT), Academy of Lymphatic Studies (ACOLS)
- Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT)
- Board Certified in Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (BCTMB)
- Certified Vogel Manual Lymphatic Drainage (CVMLD™)
- Valedictorian, BS Biomedical Science with emphasis in Nutrition, National University of Health Sciences (NUHS)
- Graduate study, Biomedical Science, Midwestern University
- Continued education, Midwest Naturopathic Medical School
- Chair, LE&RN Illinois Chapter
- Founder, The Vogel Institute of Lymphology
- Recognized as a Top Doctor in Chicago (2022)
Her Approach
The way Sharon Vogel works.
Sharon Vogel learned lymphatic drainage as physiology first, taught as a child by her mother, a surgical nurse. Her work follows each client’s anatomy rather than a fixed routine.
Assessment before anything+
The preferred First visit treatment plan starts with a first visit with Director Sharon Vogel to take an expert look at how your body is holding fluid, and an honest read of whether lymphatic work is right for you.
Your pathways, not a routine+
The drainage order follows your anatomy and your condition. There is not one way to do this, because everyone is different.
Never toward an obstruction+
Fluid is moved toward the nodes that clear it, in the order the body needs them opened, and never pushed toward a blockage.
Clinical therapy in a serene setting.+
This is medical bodywork for real reasons. Post-surgical clients start about a week out, lymphedema and lipedema are managed for life, and women's wellness runs alongside both. The room is calm; the work is clinical.
Her focus
The care plan that Sharon Vogel built.
The lymphatic work she reaches for most, whether she is settling swelling after surgery or managing a chronic condition over a series of visits.
Manual Lymphatic Drainage
The Vogel Method. Full-body drainage sequenced the way lymph actually moves.
Learn more
Complete Decongestive Therapy
The recognized standard for managing diagnosed lymphedema.
Learn more
Lymphatic Enhancement Therapy
Drainage supported by the Aria Elite LymphStar Pro with red and blue light.
Learn more
Post-Surgical Lymphatic Massage
Drainage timed to recovery after surgery, coordinated with your surgeon.
Learn moreThe Vogel Institute
She teaches the method she built.
In 2021 Sharon Vogel founded the Vogel Institute of Lymphology, and she is an approved continuing education provider. Her training is currently reserved for the therapists at National Lymphatic Centers, which is why every therapist you can book here learned the method from the person who built it.
A recognized voice in lymphatic care.
Sharon Vogel has been featured on national health television and in wellness press, speaking on manual lymphatic drainage and the conditions it helps.
Sharon Vogel on American Health Report
See the relief, in their words.
Real clients from our Hinsdale, Downers Grove, and Joliet clinics, in their own words. Choose a condition to see stories from clients like you.
- Lymphedema: Lymphedema relief with lymph drainage: Kim's story
- Lymphedema: Lymphedema after radiation: Joe's story
- Swelling & Water Retention: Reduce swelling and water retention: Elisavet's story
- Swelling & Water Retention: Visible results and less swelling: a client review
- Swelling & Water Retention: Swelling relief: a real client review
- Swelling & Water Retention: Recovery after serious infections and swollen joints: a client's journey
- Post-Surgical & Injury: Results from post-surgical swelling and injury
- Post-Surgical & Injury: Reduced knee swelling and pain after lymphatic massage
- Post-Surgical & Injury: Chronic swelling from sports and orthopedic injuries
- Post-Surgical & Injury: Ankle swelling years after a bicycle injury
- Pregnancy & Postpartum: Pregnancy swelling relief: a third-time mom's review
- Lyme Disease: Lyme disease recovery with manual lymph drainage
- Lyme Disease: Relief from Lyme disease symptoms with lymph drainage
- Client review: Audra Brown: a thoughtful, detailed review
- Client review: Rebin Roy: a fantastic experience with lymph drainage
- Client review: Does lymphatic drainage really work? Real results
- Client review: Janice: healing through lymphatic therapy
- Client review: Kary G. on Sharon Vogel's care
- Client review: Anita: ready to dance again after lymphatic drainage
- Client review: Michelle P.: lymph drainage relief
- Client review: Kathleen Heinz: a soothing, welcoming experience
- Client review: Thank you for the glowing five-star review!
Lymphedema relief with lymph drainage: Kim's story
Lymphedema after radiation: Joe's story
Reduce swelling and water retention: Elisavet's story
Visible results and less swelling: a client review
Swelling relief: a real client review
Recovery after serious infections and swollen joints: a client's journey
Learn about your care.
How the Lymphatic System Works
Why does a rolled ankle balloon overnight, while a bruise on the same leg fades without much swelling at all? Both are your body responding to a small injury. The difference comes down to a quiet, second circulation most people never think about until it stops keeping up. It runs alongside your blood, it clears the fluid your tissues leave behind, and it is a large part of how your immune system does its job. It also happens to be the exact system we work with every day. This is a plain-language look at what the lymphatic system is, what it does, and one thing about it that surprises almost everyone: it has no pump of its own.
Manual vs Machine Lymphatic Drainage: What Actually Moves Your Fluid?
Almost everyone who calls us asks a version of the same question. Should I book the hands, or should I book the machine? People have read about lymphatic massage done by a therapist, and they have also seen devices advertised that promise to do the same thing faster. It is a fair thing to wonder about before you spend your time and money. Here is the honest answer, and it is the same answer our founder Sharon Vogel gives in the clinic. The hands are the foundation. Machines are tools we sometimes add to the hands. That distinction is the whole point of this article, so let us walk through it plainly.
How Do You Know Lymphatic Drainage Is Working?
It is one of the most common questions people ask after a session, and it is a fair one. Lymphatic drainage is gentle and light on the body, so if you are new to it, you may find yourself wondering what a good result is supposed to feel like. One of our clients, Val, put the question into words better than we could: "I kept wondering, how do you know if the lymphatic massage is working? So I kept Googling, kept trying to read on it to see a difference." She even asked her own doctor the same thing. This article walks through what our clients have actually noticed, in their words, so you have a real sense of what to look for. Every experience here is one person's own. Lymphatic work is assessed and individual, and results vary from body to body.
Work with the therapist who built the method.
Sharon Vogel and our team of certified lymphatic drainage therapists see clients across Hinsdale, Downers Grove, and Joliet. No referral required.