What Causes Cellulite and How Can I Get Rid of It?

Body fat is a largely misunderstood subject when it comes to health. While an overabundance of unhealthy fat can lead to various diseases (stroke, diabetes, cardiovascular disease), your body actually needs a certain amount of fat to provide cushion and protection. 

Subcutaneous fat (the fat underneath your skin) is helpful in padding your muscles, protecting your body from the impact of a fall, aiding your nerves and blood vessels in getting to your skin, and helping your body control its temperature.

Regardless of the kind of fat you’re dealing with, however, it can still cause an unsightly blemish on your skin known as cellulite. This causes areas like your hips, buttocks, thighs, abdomen, and breasts to become lumpy, dimpled, and uneven. 

If you live in the Denver, Colorado, Chicago, Illinois, San Diego, California, or Tampa, Florida, area, and you're looking to get rid of cellulite or other blemishes, the experienced team at Ice Cave Body Sculpting can help. 

To understand more about cellulite and its effect on your body, let’s look deeper at what it is and what we can do to treat it.

Understanding cellulite

This condition is the result of fat cells accumulating in the fibrous connective tissue between your muscles and your skin. As you get more fat cells in those areas, it pushes against your skin and pulls down your connective tissue. This is what causes the dimpling effect associated with cellulite.

Many factors can contribute to cellulite, including poor diet, hormonal changes, genetics, inactivity, poor lifestyle choices, and pregnancy. While it’s very common and anyone can get cellulite, it affects women inordinately more than men. Over 90% of women struggle with it regardless of how much fat they have.

What we can do to treat cellulite

Since this condition is caused by the breakdown of the connective tissue between your skin and muscles from fat buildup, shockwave cavitation (extracorporeal shockwave therapy or shockwave therapy) is an effective way to reduce the appearance of cellulite. 

This method uses soundwaves to create indirect and direct cavitation effects that stimulate the formation of new tissue, in this case creating more collagen fibers. Collagen is a protein your body produces to keep your skin and other soft tissues firm and strong, and many factors can lead to problems producing it. 

Shockwave cavitation uses collagen to help strengthen your connective tissue that weakens when cellulite forms and helps to break down extra fat cells.

Cellulite is generally harmless, but the blemishes it leaves can affect your self-image and make you lose your confidence. With our treatments, we can help you get both of those back and feel better about yourself. 

If you're ready to see what shockwave cavitation can do for you, make an appointment with our team at Ice Cave Body Sculpture to get started. Call our location closest to you or book a visit online today.