Assessing the quality of life in lipedema patients before and after physiotherapeutic intervention

Monika Czerwińska, Marcin Gruszecki, Rita Hansdorfer-Korzon, Jacek Rumiński
Purpose:

This study aims to assess the impact of physiotherapeutic treatment methods—compression therapy combined with exercise, and exercise alone—on the quality of life of lipedema patients. Additionally, the study seeks to highlight the characteristic features and symptoms among lipedema patients.

Methods:

The study evaluated 24 women with lipedema, randomly assigned into two equal groups. Group A received compression therapy along with an exercise program, while Group B participated in the exercise program alone. Participants in Group A were provided with class 2 compression leggings and instructed to wear them daily for as long as possible throughout the study period. Both groups followed the same 8-week exercise regimen, which included one supervised session with a physiotherapist and two independent home sessions each week. Quality of life was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire before and after the intervention.

Results:

Participants experienced various lipedema symptoms such as: heaviness in affected areas, difficulties losing weight in lipedema areas and pain at palpation (100%), spontaneous pain (75%), disproportionate body shape and tendency to bruising (92%). The results show that women in Group A, who received compression therapy, had significant improvements in the Physical Functioning and Energy/Fatigue dimensions of quality of life (p0.05). In contrast, Group B, which only participated in the exercise program, did not experience significant changes post-intervention (p>0.05). Additionally, there was a tendency for improvements in General Health and Social Functioning among patients in Group A, while Group B saw a decline in these areas—General Health and Social Functioning. 

Conclusion(s):

Compression therapy combined with exercise improves the quality of life for lipedema patients. Women with lipedema experience various physical symptoms that impact their daily functioning beyond aesthetics.

Implications:

Our findings suggest that compression therapy combined with exercise is an effective treatment for improving the quality of life in lipedema patients and could be widely implemented in clinical settings. Future large-scale studies should be conducted to fully confirm these results. We believe our study will contribute to further research on lipedema treatment methods.

Funding acknowledgements:
The study received on external funding
Keywords:
women's health
lipedema
physical activity
Primary topic:
Women's health
Second topic:
Health promotion and wellbeing/healthy ageing/physical activity
Did this work require ethics approval?:
Yes
Name the institution and ethics committee that approved your work:
The study obtained ethical approval from the Medical University of Gdansk Bioethics Committee
Provide the ethics approval number:
Approval number 912/2021-2022
Has any of this material been/due to be published or presented at another national or international conference prior to the World Physiotherapy Congress 2025?:
No

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