The Vodder method was devised by Emil Vodder and his wife Estrid Vodder, both Danish, and presented by them and officially introduced for the first time in Paris in 1936.

This method involves the use of slow spiral or circular movements with alternating pressure that oscillates between zero and 40 Torr and which has an action on the skin and subcutis. This pressure alternation stimulates the mechanoreceptors of the superficial lymphatic vessels, increasing their intrinsic motility., but these pressure fluctuations also have a "suction" effect that favors the displacement of lymph from the interstitial fluid to the lymphatic vessels. According to studies conducted by the Vodder Schule, treatment with the Vodder method does not only have a lymphatic drainage effect, which favors the drainage of liquids and waste substances from the tissues to the lymphatic system by improving metabolic exchanges, but it also has other important effects:

• Sympatholytic. Vodder lymphatic drainage in fact decreases the level of activity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The SNS is part of the vegetative nervous system also called the autonomic nervous system (SNA) because it is not subject to our voluntary control. The SNS is also called the fight or flight system because it is typically activated to respond to an "fight or flight" situation, when it is necessary to react promptly to a danger and face it or get away from it in time. Without going into the specifics of the topic, from this last definition, however, we can already deduce that the activation of the SNS must have activating and not calming effects. Among these effects we find theincreased heart rate and important changes in the circulatory system that differ according to the different body districts, release of cortisol into the circulation (also called the stress hormone), increased muscle tone.
• Painkiller. The activation of the skin receptors given by the massage inhibits, at the level of the spinal cord, the transmission of pain signals to the central nervous system.
• Immunologico. This effect has not yet had a scientific demonstration to date but, according to the statements of the Vodder Schule, an improvement in the immune defenses of the treated patients was found, which proved to be less delicate.
• Reduction of muscle tone. It therefore has a beneficial action on contractures (also given by the analgesic effect and the drainage of metabolic waste substances from the muscles including lactic acid).