Understanding Lipoedema – Expert Insights from Accelerate
Recognising Lipoedema – Why Diagnosis Is So Often Missed
If your legs or arms feel heavy, tender, and bruise easily while your hands or feet look completely normal, you may be living with lipoedema – a condition that affects far more people than most realise.
Many individuals tell us they’ve been advised simply to “lose weight,” or have been passed between clinics without answers. At Accelerate, we hear this story every week – and it’s a deeply frustrating one. The truth is that lipoedema can be hard to recognise, even for experienced clinicians. But with the right knowledge and expertise, it can be accurately diagnosed and effectively managed.
Why Lipoedema Is So Often Missed
Lipoedema hides in plain sight. To an untrained eye, it can look like “just weight gain,” or be mistaken for lymphoedema or venous problems. Yet its pattern is distinct: symmetrical enlargement of the limbs, often from hips to ankles or upper arms, with feet and hands typically spared.
The tissue itself tends to feel tender or painful, may bruise easily, and has a soft, nodular texture. It’s this specific combination – the pain, the symmetry, the sparing of hands and feet – that defines the condition.
Unfortunately, in short clinical appointments, there’s rarely time to explore a patient’s full story, take careful measurements, or compare how limb shape has changed over time. That’s why so many people spend years seeking answers.
Weight bias is another major barrier. When the conversation focuses solely on weight, important clues are often overlooked – such as pain on touch, or the presence of fat pads around the knees. These symptoms are not caused by lifestyle alone. They reflect the underlying biology of lipoedema, which involves distinct patterns of adipose (fat) tissue distribution and microvascular changes.
Common Experiences Before Diagnosis
People with lipoedema often describe:
- A body shape that remains disproportionate even after weight loss.
- Legs or arms that feel heavy and uncomfortable, particularly after standing or sitting for long periods.
- Easy bruising, sometimes from the slightest touch.
The emotional impact of not being believed or understood can be significant. Many feel dismissed or blamed, which delays getting the support they need.
A Specialist Approach Makes All the Difference
Lipoedema requires a thorough clinical assessment by someone who understands the subtleties of the condition. A good assessment includes:
- Listening carefully to the patient’s history – including when symptoms began, how they’ve changed, and any family patterns.
- Taking into account other medical conditions and medications taken, and previous weight management strategies
- Examining the shape and checking key features such as tenderness, pitting, and subcutaneous tissues.
- Moisture meter measurements
- Considering differentials – including lymphoedema, chronic venous disease, lipohypertrophy, and endocrine causes –
At Accelerate, our multidisciplinary team has extensive experience in identifying lipoedema and related conditions. Our approach combines careful clinical assessment, patient education, and practical management planning so that people can move forward with clarity and confidence.
Why Early Recognition Matters
Although there’s currently no cure for lipoedema, early recognition and management can make a profound difference in a person’s symptoms. Correctly fitted compression, lifestyle adaptation including weight management, exercise, psychological support, pain management and skin care, can all help to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
Recognising lipoedema early also prevents unnecessary distress and allows patients to make informed decisions about ongoing care, including whether to explore surgical options later on.
Finding Expert Support
Accelerate CIC works closely with Lipoedema UK, British Lymphology Society, Lymphoedema Support Network, Lymph United, and the Legs Matter coalition to raise awareness of lipoedema across the UK. Our clinicians specialise in this area every day – not just occasionally – and are national contributors to best-practice guidelines. We even have a Lipoedema UK clinical advisor on our team and a founder member of the International Lipoedema Association
If you suspect you may have lipoedema, an expert assessment can provide the clarity you deserve.