Phases of Growth:
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- Edematous: it causes an edema, i.e. an accumulation of liquids, into adipose tissue, mainly surrounding ankles, calves, thighs, arms. Skin is still elastic, but patient starts to feel a limbs heaviness
- Fibrous: it causes an increasing of connective tissue that stiffenes adipose one. It's described by orange peel like skin or cottage cheese like skin, and dilatated capillaries. These are all symptoms of a bad oxygenation, frailty of vessels, and toughness in fat burning
- Sclerotic: it causes a sclerosis. Tissue becomes firm and dimpled, and there are further dilatated capillaries. Skin appearence is mattress-like: it's cold at touch, painful when lightly touched, and when pressed an hollow lasts for some seconds
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| Causes |
Primary Factors (sex, race, genetic)
- Being a woman is a factor that causes cellulite because of oestrogens action. It's not a case that this disorder starts with adolescence and its “hormonal storms”
- Being a caucasian with the so called “pear” constitution is another leading factor, since it often occurs an accumulation of excessive weight from hip to knee area leading water retention and circulatory disturbance
- There's also a genetic factor, since many disorders of microcirculation have genetic causes
Secondary Factors (pathologies, drugs, hormones, etc.)
- Period: orange peel appareance is more evident in pre-menstrual period
- Pregnancy: oestrogen levels increase leading better mood, but it also occurs increased appetite, liquids stagnancy, aggravation of blood circulation
Worsening Factors (ways of life)
- Sedentary way of life or excessive weight loss can cause the downfall of muscular tissue
- Diet too rich in calories, fats, and salt leads to localized adipose build-up, and liquid retention
- Wrong posture with crossed legs or long time standing worsen bloodstream and cellulite
- Clothes too tight press blood vassels and lead to a bad circulation
- Shoes too tight or heels too high oppose to venous blood and lymphatic flow
- Stress and smoke also worsen cellulite. Stress increases hormone levels; while smoke has a vasocostrictive action, besides it increases the level of free radicals that worsen micorcirculation and help speeding up skin aging
- Overweight also causes cellulite
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| Types: |
- Thick: it affects good fitted people. The most affected area is often painful, and stretch marks appear onto skin. It's localized at knees, thighs, and the buttocks level. It often occurs with symptoms of venous and lymphatic fatigue at lower limbs
- Flabby: it affects either middle-aged people with hypotonic tissue or people with weight fluctation. It's localized onto inner thighs and arms
- Edematous: it features by liquids stagnancy at the buttocks and pelvis level that gives to tissues a spongy and swelling appearence. It's very painful either when touched or spontanously. It's always associated with a bad venous and lymphatic circulation at lower limbs level. At the beginning, it feature a feeling of legs and feet heaviness; after a couple of years, more evident symptoms of venous insufficiency can occur with such swellings that when skin is pressed it remains an hollow for a couple of seconds. This is the ending stage of cellulite and it features spongy and swinging tissue
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How to Deal With It:
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- Diet: an healthy diet is one of the main factors in cellulite prevention. A balanced diet can prevent and treat limb swellings and cellulite caused by a slowdown of venous circulation. Therefore, it's recommended to reduce salt (sodium retain liquids), drink a lot of water (1-1,5 litres daily) to detoxify the body, avoid food and drinks that outwear liver (coffee, chocolate, alchohol, fried food, etc.). It's also advisable to eat food with high content of fibres, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, bioflavonoids (such as soft fruit).
- Exercise: sport helps to increase fat burning, tonify muscles, and stimulate circulation. The best exercise type is aerobic one that stimulates tissue oxygenation and rallies fat deposits. Amongst the others, swimming, bicycle, jogging, walking, free exercises, and athletics are recommended.
- Nutritional supplements: andiroba (topical), chá de bugre
- Home treatments: a self-massage with draining and vasoprotective products can help to improve aesthetic situation but not to remove cellulite. Hydromassage can be also helpful thanks to its smoothing, firming, and draining actions.
- Aesthetic treatments: aesthetic massage (it drains excessive liquids and helps to remove swellings and leg heaviness), lymphatic draining (it re-activates lymphatic circulation in charge of detoxyfication), pressotherapy, endermologie (computerized massage that re-activates microcirculation), electrostimulation (it tonifies and firms tissues)
- Medical treatments: mesotherapy (a drug cocktail with draining and vasoprotective action is injected in affected areas), microtherapy, ultrasonic therapy, electrolipolysis, oxygen-ozonotherapy, acupuncture, ionophoresis
- Surgical treatments: liposuction, liposculpture, laserlipolysis
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