Here we publish what we see in clinic and what is changing in the evidence on lipedema: how the diagnosis is actually reached, what sets it apart from obesity, cellulite and lymphoedema, and what each treatment really contributes. Every article is written or reviewed by the medical team at Lipedema Advanced Care.
Lipedema is still a poorly recognised condition: in our study of 969 patients in Spain, half had to see three or more specialists before anyone gave it a name. That is why we write here.
If you suspect you may have lipedema, the free online test gives you a first indication in two minutes. It does not replace a medical diagnosis, but it helps you decide whether it is worth consulting.
If your legs hurt at night, the explanation is almost always benign: the most common causes are night leg cramps, restless legs syndrome and the heaviness of venous insufficiency. But there is one kind of leg pain at night that should not be left until morning: a cold, pale foot that hurts at rest and […]
Can lipedema go away? The honest answer is no: lipedema is a chronic disease, and no treatment available today makes it disappear. But chronic does not mean untreatable, and it does not mean you are bound to get worse: conservative treatment reduces pain and helps you keep your mobility, and surgery, when it is indicated, […]
Fat calves rarely have a single explanation. The volume in that area can come from muscle, from fat (because of body build or weight), from fluid held back by the veins or the lymphatic system, or from lipedema affecting the lower leg. Telling them apart matters, because each cause responds differently to exercise and to […]
Knee fat, especially the kind that gathers on the inner side of the knee, is almost always normal fatty tissue that follows the way your body stores fat. But when it appears equally on both knees, hurts when you press it and forms a clear step against the rest of the leg, it may be […]
The exercises for lipedema that suit you most are the ones you can keep doing over time without your pain flaring up: exercise in water, walking, cycling and adapted strength training, ideally with your compression garment on. Exercise reduces pain, improves mobility and fitness, may lift your mood, and helps you manage your weight and […]
Fatty lumps on legs are almost always benign: the most common is a lipoma, a soft, single lump that slides under the skin. But not everything that feels like “a little ball of fat” is a lipoma: the nodules of lipedema, a cyst, an inflamed vein or a lymph node can feel similar, and each […]
Lipedema or lymphedema? They are two different conditions that are easily confused because both make the legs larger. Lipedema is a disorder of fat that is symmetrical and painful when pressed and spares the feet and hands; lymphedema is a buildup of fluid caused by a failure of the lymphatic system, often on one side […]
A leg that swells is one thing. A leg that is hard is another. If you press and no dent stays, or if the skin around your ankle has turned stiff and dark, what is underneath is no longer water: the tissue has changed. We have ordered this around the two questions that actually discriminate: […]
You look at your leg, you see a bruise and you have no idea what you hit. And it is not the first one. The first thing worth knowing is that most bruises are nothing: legs collide with the corner of the bed every single day and most of those knocks never register. The second […]
If you searched for edematous cellulite, start with the word itself, because two different things are hiding behind it. Cellulite, with an E, is the dimpled orange-peel skin that most women have. Cellulitis, with an S, is a bacterial infection of the skin and the tissue underneath, and that one is a medical emergency. One […]
