Lipedema: what it is, how it differs from cellulite and which treatments help

Many women live for years with legs that ache, swell and do not change despite diet and exercise. It is often mistaken for cellulite or fluid retention, but it may be lipedema.

What lipedema is

It is a chronic fat tissue disorder that causes a symmetrical build-up of fat, mainly in the legs and sometimes the arms, sparing the feet and hands. It almost always affects women and tends to appear or worsen at times of hormonal change: puberty, pregnancy or menopause.

Common signs

• Legs out of proportion to the upper body.
• Pain to the touch and a feeling of heaviness, worse in the heat or at the end of the day.
• Bruising easily.
• Fat in those areas does not respond to diet like the rest of the body.

Lipedema, cellulite and fluid retention are not the same

Cellulite is a change on the skin surface (orange-peel skin) and is not usually painful. Fluid retention varies from day to day and usually affects the feet too. Lipedema is a fat tissue disorder, with pain and bruising, that does not go away with weight loss.

Diagnosis is made by a doctor. If you recognise these signs, get it checked: early diagnosis helps manage it better.

Which treatments help

Aesthetic treatments do not cure lipedema, but they can improve symptoms and well-being. Those that help most stimulate circulation and drainage:

• LPG body: a mechanical technique that mobilises tissue and supports drainage.
• Pressotherapy: sequential pressure that relieves heaviness.
• Indiba body: radiofrequency that improves tissue circulation.

Many patients notice a feeling of lightness from the first sessions. It is usual to combine technologies and keep regular sessions, together with low-impact exercise (walking, swimming), an anti-inflammatory diet and, if the doctor advises, compression garments.

In summer the coastal heat often makes heaviness worse: a good time to step up your care. Full information on lipedema treatment in Nerja.