Cellulite and methods of fighting it

Cellulitis is a common disease characterized by a violation of water-fat metabolism. Cellulite is not just an accumulation of adipose tissue on muscles, but an inflammatory process and degenerative phenomena in fatty tissue. According to the survey, more than 80% of women suffer from it. This is not a cosmetic defect, as it was generally believed, since if we take into account the physical malaise and, most importantly, the psychological consequences( after all, if the disease is properly and timely not treated, it becomes irreversible), then it is fair to consider cellulite a dangerous pathology.

At every age, cellulite has a number of characteristics that must be taken into account during treatment. The causes leading to this disease are very diverse, but have common consequences: cause a disruption of the ratio between the volume of blood circulating in the blood vessels and the volume of fluid in the interstitial space. Water metabolism in the body is very intense and amounts to 4000 liters per day, and if it is disturbed, it can lead to a significant water retention in the body.

Cellulite can occur at any age. There are cases of its appearance even in children.

The composition of consumed products influences the processes of water-salt metabolism.

Salted and fatty foods: pork, sauces, sausages, smoked products, chips, pickles, as well as chocolate, bread, alcohol complicate the work of the liver - the main mechanism of detoxification of the body. During normal operation, harmful substances are neutralized and removed from the body, but if the load is very high, toxins can enter the bloodstream. Some of them are retained in interstitial fluid, creating a basis for the formation of cellulite.

The most likely causes of cellulite are: malnutrition, hormonal disorders, sedentary lifestyle, wearing high-heeled shoes, wearing crushing garments. All this leads to the same result: directly or indirectly causes fluid retention( edema).

We already mentioned the wrong diet. The second cause of cellulitis is hormonal disorders. This disease is typical almost exclusively of women and is associated with an increase in the content of estrogens in the body. During pregnancy, the level of hormones increases and comes back to normal around the 3rd day after childbirth.

Estrogens cause muscle relaxation, which affects the permeability of blood vessels, leading to an increase in the yield of fluid in the interstitial space.

The sedentary lifestyle becomes the cause of most cases of cellulite development at an early age, since, without providing enough muscle for the muscles, a person does not use the important mechanisms of pressure on the venous vessels that provide active help in returning blood to the heart. The blood flow slows down, the liquid part of the blood penetrates into the tissues and "stagnates" there. The resulting edema slows down the blood flow even more, etc.

Women, who wear high-heeled shoes constantly, are aggravated by the process described above.

Narrow, squeezing details of clothing by compressing surface vessels also disrupt metabolism, causing stagnant liquids in the tissues.

As we see, the causes that cause cellulite have a common basis - a violation of normal water metabolism in tissues.

Different forms of its manifestation can be distinguished at different stages of the development of the disease.

When, due to the processes already described, the fluid leaves the interstitial space, the latter increases in volume, thus there are swelling, the body weight increases. It is not yet cellulite, but a fertile soil for its appearance.

Edemas make it difficult for oxygen to enter tissues, its deficiency increases. The body begins to form substances, which should not normally be. Some of them, affecting pain receptors, cause painful sensations, others contribute to further swelling.

From this point on, actually, cellulite begins. It arises as a protective reaction to the above changes: connective tissue grows, isolating foreign substances. A dense jelly-like substance with enveloping properties is formed. This is the first phase of cellulite: the affected areas are painful to the touch, the tissues are dense, the skin is often shiny.

In the second stage, many women have a dramatic increase in the number of dilated veins on the hips. To the touch, the affected area resembles a hummocky rubber, on the skin - the effect of an "orange peel".

Over time, microfocal fat is formed in the affected areas, surrounded by capsules of densified connective tissue. In addition, there are fibrous seams, sometimes attached to the muscles or skin. This phase is called "loose" cellulite and is characterized by the fact that the tissues of the affected area are dehydrated and become lifeless. In these places there are changed, fibrous tissues, covered with thickened skin. In this case, typical, well-known defects of the figure appear: "riding breeches" on the hips, saggy buttocks.

The strong manifestation of the third stage of the disease in the area of ​​the knees and ankles leads to the fact that the entire limb is deformed, a characteristic "elephantia" appears.

I would like to note that the fight against cellulite with the help of a diet does not work: body weight decreases, and bumpy, affected tissue remains. Moreover, the body uses fatty tissue stores with uninfected areas( face, neck, chest).

As a result, the upper part of the body loses weight, and the proportions are broken even more.

To treat cellulite, you first need to determine which components of subcutaneous fat require intervention. There are three:

1) edema, where the decomposition products accumulate;

2) connective tissue seals;

3) areas of adipose tissue, "off" from normal metabolic processes.

For each of these components, there is a method of treatment:

sectoral pressotherapy - to remove excess fluid and slags;

mesotherapy and laser therapy - to eliminate the sealing of connective tissues;

low-calorie diet - to remove harmful substances from the body and mobilize body fat.

All these methods give a tangible effect only in combination with each other, the application of them individually is almost inconclusive. It must be remembered that methods of physiotherapy that exert a strong physical impact on the affected areas are unacceptable. These include rough massage and all vibratory procedures.

So, what are the hallmarks of cellulite?

1) The superficial tissues in certain areas of the body are loose and thin, when pressed with fingers, they easily give way.

Dense nodules are probed. In the skin on: & gt; quiet areas there is an increased fragility of capillaries, frequent bruises. This is the so-called "soft" cellulite.

2) Surface tissues, on the contrary, are dense;the skin is almost always dry, wrinkled, if you pinch it with your fingers, it seems that pellets are rolling under the skin. This is a "hard" cellulite.

Most often, intermediate forms are encountered, so that an accurate diagnosis can only be made by a specialist, a doctor.

Unrecognized cellulite nevertheless gives an indirect knowledge of its presence by the following symptoms.

Skin color. In the cold, healthy skin reacts with a strong tide of blood, which causes redness. Cellulite prevents a normal reaction: the color is uneven, cyanotic, whitish spots may appear.

Frequent cramps. Because of insufficient blood supply, convulsions appear when muscles contract or even at rest with a higher degree of damage.

Bruises. If even a slight bruise causes bruising, this indicates the fragility of the capillaries due to venous blood stagnation.

Frostbite and numbness of the extremities. It occurs when there is a lack of blood circulation and poor supply of nutrients.

Dry skin. Also occurs when there is insufficient nutrition of tissues and skin.

Cold feet. The arteries of the lower limbs are squeezed, and the flow of blood is difficult.

Feeling of heaviness. In the affected areas, fluid and metabolic products accumulate, which causes an increase in weight in comparison with healthy parts of the body.

Varicose veins. The venous circulation slows down, the veins expand and swell, the elasticity of the vessel walls decreases.

It is necessary to point out a very important circumstance: during an exacerbation, with pronounced cellulite, physical exercises of any intensity are useless and even aggravate the course of the disease, since they give an additional load to the circulatory and excretory systems that are already unable to cope with the processes.

But for preventive purposes or at the end of a special course of treatment, the physical load is exceptionally effective as an excellent tonic for these systems.

Of all sports, bodybuilding is one of the most effective for the prevention of cellulite.

Classes should be aimed at stimulating blood circulation and breathing.

The main attention should be paid to those parts of the body that are most susceptible to the disease. As an example, we give special sets of exercises.