Can Massage Reduce Cellulite?
While dimples may enhance the cheeks of children, these skin indentations may cause distress for many women with cellulite. According to MayoClinic.com, most women have cellulite. This fat often causes skin to dimple and bulge in the affected areas.
While dimples may enhance the cheeks of children, these skin indentations may cause distress for many women with cellulite. According to MayoClinic.com, most women have cellulite. This fat often causes skin to dimple and bulge in the affected areas. While several therapies exist for treating cellulite, including ones that involve massage, most do not live up to their claims.
Identification
Cellulite is fat that forms beneath the skin, causing lumpy irregularities over the buttocks, thighs and abdomens of most women. Men may also experience areas of cellulite. The fat deposits protrude into the dermis layer of skin, causing the appearance of dimpling.
Causes
The uneven texture of cellulite appears when fat cells build up between fibrous tissues that connect your skin to your underlying muscles. The fat pushes your skin outward while the fibrous bands pull areas of your skin inward, causing the uneven surface.
Treatments
Cellulite treatments that include massage base their techniques and theories on the concept that vigorous massage helps to increase blood circulation, removing toxins and reducing excessive amounts of fluid in areas that contain cellulite. While massage may temporarily compress fat cells, the beneficial results are usually short-lived, according to MayoClinic.com.
Methods
Cellulite treatments that use massage vary, depending on the methods utilized. Many topical solutions, such as herbal extracts and seaweed products, require application using manual massage with hands and fingers, while others require mechanical massage. Endermologie, a cellulite massage therapy, uses a hand-held device designed to knead your skin between rollers. The slight improvement you may notice after cellulite massage is typically only temporary. WomensHealth.gov warns that no amount of massage will remove your cellulite.
Alternatives
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, current technologies don't adequately address the structural component of cellulite, making it difficult to provide more than mild or temporary improvement. While most treatments designed to target cellulite don't resolve this problem, certain practices may minimize the appearance of lumpy skin. MayoClinic.com recommends losing weight through exercise and diet. Strengthening the muscles in your legs, buttocks and thighs won't completely remove your cellulite, but it may make it less noticeable.