Dr. Mery Lamah, a renowned specialist in aesthetic medicine, discusses methods to eliminate the dreaded cellulite. Cellulite is defined as the accumulation of fatty tissue (adipose tissue) in certain areas of the body, especially in the thighs, abdomen and arms, and results in the formation of fat nodules.
Why does it appear?
There are fundamental factors in the appearance of cellulite, among them we can name:
- Poor venous and lymphatic circulation
- Water and metabolite retention
- Accumulation of fat in the adipocytes.
What types of cellulite are there?
There are several types of cellulite and they are classified according to their form:
- Hard cellulite: this is asymptomatic cellulite that usually appears in young people in good physical condition. It usually begins to appear in adolescence and is manifested after performing the test of squeezing or pinching the area with the fingers showing the so-called “orange peel”. This type of cellulite usually appears due to a diet poor in nutrients, although it can also appear due to oxygen deficiency in the area. When its cause is due to both, it usually appears together with some stretch marks. The areas that are normally affected are the external face of the thighs (thighbones), the upper part of the abdomen, the upper part of the pelvis (hips) and the upper and internal area of the knees.
- Soft cellulite: it is the most frequent of all types and can generally appear at any age, being more common after the age of 40. In a lower percentage it can appear at puberty or even in childhood, taking into account an important genetic component. This type of cellulite usually appears in sedentary people, or who at some point worked on their physical and nutritional condition and abandoned that healthy lifestyle. It also appears in people who have lost weight through malnutrition and have gained it back. It can be perceived by sight, with small skin collapses and to the touch, hard nodules can be felt, and deformations of the area are produced at the slightest touch or pressure. The orange peel can be seen with the naked eye and is usually painless. It is especially evident on the front and back of the thighs, buttocks, abdomen, arms and back in general. It is usually accompanied by varicose veins, often with symptoms of muscle pain and a feeling of heaviness. It is also the most difficult to treat.
- Edematous cellulite: it is defined as the most dangerous of all cellulite. Its appearance is usually early from the second or third decade of life and is mainly due to the direct involvement of the circulatory system, not necessarily evident in obese people, but in people with a tendency to have thick thighs or gynecoid biotype. This type of cellulitis is conditioned with pain and heaviness in the legs, so much so that it can make walking difficult. It can also be evidenced by the widening of the ankle in a painful way and with evidence of fluid retention (edema). It is usually combined with varicose veins of different sizes and spider veins, as well as hematomas. This type of cellulite, more than an aesthetic problem, is considered a serious health problem, as well as an important social determinant due to its causes and aggravating factors.
- Mixed cellulite: as its name indicates, it is when combined signs and symptoms of the different types of cellulite appear in the same person. For example, a patient may present hard cellulite on the back of the thigh in combination with soft cellulite on the front of the thigh. It should be noted that the circulatory genetic component and the nutritional and physical habits represent a very high percentage in the appearance of this pathology. In addition, whether it is an aesthetic or health issue, we must give it the importance it deserves, because the mere fact of its appearance warns that something is wrong in the body, either the circulatory system and / or drainage system. That is to say, it will be necessary to change something in the lifestyle and begin to prevent and treat it.
What treatments exist to treat cellulite?
The good news is that there are preventive and curative treatments for cellulite, where perseverance and discipline play a fundamental role. The most common way to treat it is by changing lifestyle and eating habits, including exercise and above all by being aware that it is a health problem. Among the different treatments, we can highlight:
- Mesotherapy: is the technique with which active ingredients are applied in small doses through injections into the skin, its therapeutic function is diverse. The technique is a minimally invasive method and its application is direct in the area to be treated. To apply the technique, active substances suitable for each person are combined in small doses. Mesotherapy can be performed manually or with a special gun.
- Carboxitherapy: Another modality of mesotherapy is the carboxitherapy technique, in which instead of liquid substances, carbon dioxide is injected. This gas is used in aesthetic medicine mainly for cellulite treatments, localized adiposity, flaccidity and in all the treatments described with mesotherapy. It is also used in people suffering from fibromyalgia, rheumatic diseases and as pain therapy.
- Non-invasive appliances for the treatment of photoaging and for the treatment of body remodeling and localized fat: there are a great variety of tools, such as appliances used as a complementary treatment to the invasive ones, performed by the aesthetic doctor. It is important to clarify that many of these treatments should not coincide in certain periods of time with the invasive treatments of Aesthetic Medicine; therefore, before performing them, a study should be carried out specifying such treatment and the time of its realization. The most common and current are:
- Ultrasound
- Virtual Mesotherapy
- Radiofrequency
- LPG
- CYCLON
- Pressotherapy (Physical Lymphatic Drainage)
- Electrostimulation
- Electroporation
- Galvanic Currents
For more information, consult a specialist in Aesthetic Medicine.