“TL;DR: Many women wonder why their cellulite or fat hurts when massaged or pinched. Typically, early-stage cellulite (Stage 1 or 2) isn’t painful, but in severe cases (Stage 3 or 4), often seen in women over 50, the hard lumps and deeper fat can be tender. Even younger women with milder cellulite may experience sensitivity. The pain stems from chronic inflammation in fat tissue, which releases inflammatory molecules, worsened by poor circulation, water retention, oxidative damage, and fibrosis. These factors create painful, lumpy cellulite. Beyond aesthetics, cellulite signals underlying health issues like inflammation and tissue damage. Lifestyle changes - better diet, exercise, and reduced alcohol or smoking - plus treatments like radiofrequency or ultrasound can help alleviate it.”
Painful cellulite and fat
Pain, inflammation and hard cellulite lumps
So what causes painful cellulite? Why do my legs hurt when I rub them?
Chronic, low grade inflammation: the cause of cellulite pain
That’s OK for cellulite but why do my love handles hurt? Why does my fat hurt when I squeeze it? Does fat hurt when you pinch it?
Cellulite: a health concern, not just an aesthetic condition
Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment with London’s cellulite experts
Advanced, infrared / blue / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia
The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening
Pain, inflammation and hard cellulite lumps
At the clinic we hear a lot of clients asking “why does my cellulite hurt when massaged“ or even “why does my fat hurt when pinched”.
For most women, i.e. those with Stage 1 or Stage 2 cellulite, cellulite is not painful.
In the more severe cases of lumpy cellulite (Stage 3 or 4) both the hard cellulite lumps and deeper fat can hurt to the touch. This is most commonly found in women above the age of 50.
However, even in younger women (in their 20s) and in less severe cases (Stage 2 cellulite), cellulite can be sensitive when touched or massaged.
So what causes painful cellulite? Why do my legs hurt when I rub them?
It is in the nature of cellulite to quite often be painful.
Before we explain why advanced cellulite - and sometimes even plain fat - hurts, let’s look at the definition of cellulite. This will help us understand the multiple causes of painful cellulite and fat tissue.
Cellulite is defined as an aesthetic skin condition that comprises:
Excessive hypodermal adipose tissue accumulation
Impaired microcirculation / lymphatic drainage
Free radical damage
Chronic, low grade inflammation
Skin laxity
Fibrosis
Collagen glycation
Chronic, low grade inflammation: the cause of cellulite pain
In most cases, pain is the result of inflammation, and cellulite/fat pain could not be different.
Pain on skin affected by cellulite/fat accumulation on legs, buttocks, arms, stomach and back, is caused - or made worse - by the following aspects:
Adipose (fat) tissue inflammation: Fat tissue itself is well known to be a pro-inflammatory tissue, i.e. fat cells secrete inflammatory molecules called adipokines. Cellulite fat, specifically, is very pro-inflammatory.
Water retention: Poor circulation / water retention is always accompanied by increased inflammation, as waste products and toxins do not get removed from tissues, thereby causing localised irritation / more inflammation, and consequently pain.
Oxidative damage and glycation: Both tend to lead to inflammation and therefore pain.
Fibrosis: the connective tissue fibres that attach to the cellulite globules, are initially overstretched and then contracted (fibrosis), with the whole process characterised by inflammation and pain.
All these tissue changes explain the painful, hard, lumpy cellulite.
That’s OK for cellulite but why do my love handles hurt? Why does my fat hurt when I squeeze it? Does fat hurt when you pinch it?
All fat, superficial or deep, can be inflamed, either from inside (chronic low grade adipose tissue inflammation) or from the outside (due to rubbing on or compressed by clothes, or other factors).
Some cellulite massage or anti-cellulite treatments that boost circulation, reduce fat and strengthen skin (such as deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and/or or deep-acting high-power ultrasound cavitation) will help.
Cellulite: a health concern, not just an aesthetic condition
All in all, cellulite is not just the benign and visually annoying aesthetic condition that most people think it is.
Although cellulite does not kill, it does indicate that inflammation and damage is occurring under the skin, which ideally should be stopped, both for aesthetic and health reasons.
If left unchecked, it will lead to more water retention, more underlying skin tissue damage and fibrosis, more inflammation, more pain and more skin looseness, in addition to the unsightly bumps.
So a change in lifestyle (nutrition, exercise, alcohol drinking, smoking and general lifestyle) and perhaps a course of strong cellulite treatments (e.g. deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and high-power ultrasound cavitation), make a lot of sense.
Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts
At LipoTherapeia we have specialised 100% in skin tightening and cellulite reduction for more than two decades and 20,000+ sessions.
This is all we study and practise every day and have researched and tried hands-on all the important skin tightening equipment and their manufacturers.
As strong, deep acting radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the technologies of choice for skin tightening and cellulite reduction, we have invested in the best RF/ultrasound technologies in the world.
Furthermore, over the last two decades we have developed advanced RF and cavitation treatment protocols in order to make the most of our technologies, for maximum results, naturally and safely.
And for even better, faster results, we now combine our RF/ultrasound treatments with high-power red/infrared light LED treatment.
Our radiofrequency/ultrasound/LED treatments are comfortable, pain-free, downtime-free, injection-free, 99.5%+ safe and always non-invasive.
(No unsafe and ineffective RF microneedling or HIFU and no safe but ineffective acoustic wave therapy, superficial RF (bipolar/tripolar/multipolar etc), low power RF/cavitation, electrical muscle stimulation, lymphatic massage, cupping, dry brushing and no ridiculous bum bum creams.)
Our focus is on honest, realistic, science-based treatment, combined with caring, professional service, with a smile.
We will be pleased to see you, assess your cellulite, skin laxity or fibrosis, listen to your story, discuss your case and offer you the best possible treatment.
Advanced, infrared / blue / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia
At LipoTherapeia we are passionate about phototherapy (also known as photobiomodulation/PBM, red light therapy, infrared light therapy, blue light therapy, LED light therapy etc) and we use the most powerful equipment available today (up to 200mW/cm2), for best results and treatment of large body areas.
We use specialised therapy protocols for skin rejuvenation / anti-ageing, pigmentation / post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), moderate/severe acne, skin redness, sensitive/inflamed/irritated skin, wound healing, sports injuries / musculoskeletal pain and overall wellness / well-being.
Our LED phototherapy sessions are comfortable, deeply relaxing and super-safe and are great to enhance our radiofrequency/ultrasound treatments for skin tightening / cellulite reduction.
On our booking page you can book stand-alone phototherapy sessions or combine them with our other treatments, as an add-on.
Learn more or check prices and book an expert LED phototherapy treatment at our London clinic.
The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening
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Attend a half-day, 1-day, 2-day or 3-day one-to-one masterclass and confidently offer your clients the safest, strongest and most effective treatment possible.
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Learn more or check prices and book training at our London clinic or via Zoom.
Learn more or check prices and book an expert treatment at our London clinic (49 Marylebone High Street, W1)