Causes of Cellulite

The first thing to know about the causes of cellulite is that the dimpled appearance on your legs is not excess fat or water at all!

Most of us are told that to reduce cellulite, we must exercise to burn fat or do strength training to build muscle. Weight loss, if you have extra to lose, is always a good idea, and making sure you address all lifestyle factors.

To get rid of cellulite, you need to go deeper than the surface of the skin. Especially if you are dealing with cellulite-prone areas like the thighs, where there is more fatty tissue.

Cellulite occurs when the fibrous bands of the fascia (also known as connective tissue) become misformed, hard, and grips the bone. This then causes the cells to push up against the skin, causing skin dimpling.

Fascia grips onto our bones for a number of reasons, including poor posture, shallow breathing habits, lack of sleep, and significant amounts of either prolonged sitting or standing still.

What is the best way to prevent or reduce cellulite?

Fascia health can be improved by drinking plenty of water to hydrate the fascia, moving your body as much as you can, and keeping a good diet. You want to avoid processed foods full of chemicals that will only tighten up or constrict your cells.

The problem is that our modern lifestyle makes it’s very difficult to maintain a healthy diet and have the correct posture needed to prevent us from developing cellulite.

Why cellulite on our legs is not fat cells or excess body fat?

Our fascia grips onto the bones to stop us from tipping over, but this gripping can cause the orange peel appearance in the skin.

Most of us stand with one leg turned out, and pop our hip to the side. This causes the fascia to bulk up on one side, causing the fascia and connective tissue to become more chaotic, and increasing the appearance of cellulite.

There is a less common type of cellulite on arms called “cottage cheese arm.”, and occurs when we have deep lumps in our fascia, often because of poor posture or lack of movement.

Exercise can helps us reduce the appearance of these dimples and increase circulation to decrease pain from this condition.

Why do women get cellulite more often?

Cellulite often occurs towards the end of menopause, when oestrogen levels start to decrease and the skin loses elasticity. Estrogen influences the formation of blood vessels, increasing the risk of developing cellulite or varicose veins.

Decreased circulation not only prevents tissue from getting enough oxygen and nutrients.

The second reason behind cellulite is the presence of adrenergic receptors. When stimulated, alpha receptors cause fat cells to produce fat, triggering the constriction of blood vessels and the release of sugar into the bloodstream.

Fat is broken down when beta receptors are stimulated, which also creates a sedating effect on heart rate and vessels. The ratio of beta to alpha receptors in this area affects women more than men, because it’s ten times greater in females. This oestrogen-to-androgen ratio influences how much cellulite forms.

People of all ages and body types can get cellulite. It is most common for females in their 40s and 50s, but we’re seeing more people younger than that developing it in recent decades.

Years ago, we would have attributed this change to poor lifestyle habits like diet or exercise. But lately, there’s mounting evidence that oestrogen is playing a role.

Why do some women have more cellulite than others?

Genetic predisposition may be a factor, but our modern western lifestyle certainly does. We move less and tend to sit around a lot more.

Constrictive underwear with elastic across the buttocks and thighs to “smooth” the bumps, cuts off our circulation.

Wearing panties under pantyhose, is also a problem because pantyhose forces lymphatic drainage back into the body. Like if you clamped a hose after turning it on, causing a build-up in the pipe.

The rise of cellulite in recent decades can be attributed to a change in fashion and the type of underwear worn. In earlier years, women typically wore dresses that gave them enough space to exercise underneath. Underwear was almost like pyjamas back then, unlike modern pairs with high elastic waistbands.

The appearance of cellulite is always underneath where the elastics go, and if you draw an invisible line where the cellulite is, you will see where the panty lines are.

Simply changing your underwear from tight elasticised to thongs (g-strings) can prevent and help your current development of cellulite. Thongs aren’t fashionable anymore, but are beneficial than tight underwear.

Can you Prevent Cellulite?

Healthy Diet

Diet applies to every aspect of our lives, and preventing cellulite reduction is no different. It’s important to maintain a balanced diet and avoid smoking, alcohol, high levels of stress, and fatty tissue.

Cellulite is more likely to form if you’re immobile for long periods of time, or have decreased circulation through your lymphatic system.

If you are carrying extra weight, it will be better to lose weight. It’s better and avoid any weight gain to stop cellulite developing. Make sure you are staying hydrated, getting plenty of Omega-rich foods, like nuts and seeds to keep your skin soft as well so there is no extra gripping!

As we age our collagen production slows down. Collagen is what gives our skin its elasticity and will help stop loose skin. In 2015 a study was conducted to measure the efficacy of specific collagen peptides (BCP – bioactive collagen peptides) which yielded promising results. So, dietary supplementation which including collagen is a very good idea, you’re not only stopping cellulite but also gain skin elasticity.

This is interesting research on the efficacy of collagen

Correct Posture

Most of us stand with one leg out to the side and the other one bearing all the weight and at least one foot pointing outwards. This twists our hips out of alignment causing havoc in our body.

The correct way to stand is with your feet flat and feet hip width apart, with your toes pointing forward. Most people have their toes pointing outward.

Correct posture is very difficult to do without being consciously aware of it. In Block Therapy we train you further on being able to unconsciously have a healthy posture.

Can you actually get rid of cellulite?

Most of the cellulite solutions help with the appearance of cellulite. This is evident in the find a wide variety of lotions, scrubs, and treatments for cellulite that improve the appearance of your skin. However, if you want to get rid of it you’ll need to commit to more in-depth treatments.

Cellulite Treatments

If you have cellulite already there are different treatment options to eliminate cellulite.

Coffee Scrubs

This treatment uses the power of caffeine to dehydrate fat cells. I think these are very hyped at the moment and don’t really offer any long-term benefits.

Basically, the scrub is made of coffee grinds, coarse sugar, and essentials oils. Which is rubbed into your thigh cellulite and those unwanted cellulite dimples. This stimulates blood circulation, the caffeine also temporarily tightens skin making the skin smoother and reducing the appearance of cellulite.

So if you are wanting to give your thighs and skin great treatment just before putting on a bathing suit, it’s a great idea. There are many home remedies where you can create your own scrubs.

Cellulite Creams

These are applied directly twice daily onto the skin to making cellulite less visible. It can take up to four months to see visible results.

Most cellulite treatments focus on improving fat metabolism. The best creams have L-Carnitine, which transports fats into cells and breaks them down as energy.

Other creams contain aminophylline, which works by blocking alpha receptors that cause fat cells to stay enlarged.

Laser Therapy

Treating cellulite with lasers is a popular option for cellulite treatment because they target fat cells. It is used to break down these cell membranes, improving their function, and work with your body’s natural processes to break down fats.

They can also stimulate collagen production, which will make skin more elastic and less likely to develop cellulite in the future.

Foam Rolling

This addresses the upper layers of the fascia adhesions. It’s a self-massage technique where apply pressure on your fascia to release adhesions. You lie on top of the roller and slowly massage up and down the iliotibial band muscle.

Foam rollers come in different densities and sizes that are appropriate for various body parts like your thighs, hips, and calves.

Deep Tissue Massage

Deep massages alleviate water retention, unsightly fat deposits, and the appearance of cellulite.

A good anti-cellulite massage can go deep into difficult-to-reach areas of your body – including the inner thigh and back – to ease stubborn pockets of cellulite.

Massages can also activate lymphatic drainage, which helps to get rid of toxins that can accumulate in the fat layer, leading to inflammation.

Block Therapy

Helps you get rid of cellulite because it gets to the root of what is keeping your fascia stuck. Block Therapy helps to melt the adhesions in your fascia release them from their grip, smoothing out dimples in your skin, and reducing cellulite.

It’s a simple practice that anyone can do.

Block Therapy gives you long-term results, and you have the added health benefits that you get when you are able to get more blood flow and oxygen to your cells.

Using Block Therapy you are able to get rid of cellulite by:

melting frozen fascia in the leg, it releases the pressure on the skin, therefore reversing the ‘dimpling’.

The skin becomes more healthy and vibrant, looking younger and the dimpling begins to vanish.

If you would like to learn more about what Block Therapy, book a Call with Helen or if you would like to know where to buy Block Therapy Blocks click here