Assessment of the elasticity of lipedematous tissue and the examination of the relationship between pain and fibrosis in lipedema
Authors' conclusion
While SWE measurements were not correlated with skin adipose tissue, SWE measurements were correlated with pain and neuropathic pain in patients with lipedema. This finding highlights a potentially important relationship between tissue elasticity and pain, which may warrant further exploration. SWE offers a novel, non-invasive approach to quantifying tissue stiffness, providing valuable insights into tissue alterations in women with lipedema.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with lipedema; mean age 45.2 years, mean body mass index (BMI) 33.6 kg/m²; 60% with family history of lipedema
- Participants
- 35 patients
- Outcome
- Relationship between pain (VAS; neuropathic pain by PainDetect) and tissue elasticity measured by shear-wave elastography (SWE)
Methodological detailsobservational, analytical
- Observational
- Analytical
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Correlation of SWE measurements with pain
- Thigh SWE-Elasticity (SWE-E) vs visual analog scale (VAS)
- r = 0.35, p = 0.03
- Shear-wave elastography (SWE)-velocity (SWE-velocity (SWE-V)) vs PainDetect, right thigh
- r = 0.38, p = 0.02
- SWE-V vs PainDetect, left thigh
- r = 0.47, p = 0.004
- SWE-E vs PainDetect, right thigh
- r = 0.44, p = 0.007
- SWE-E vs PainDetect, left thigh
- r = 0.44, p = 0.008
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
- Age moderately correlated with all subcutaneous adipose tissue measurements
- P < 0.01
- BMI moderately correlated with all subcutaneous adipose tissue measurements
- P < 0.001
- No correlation of age or BMI with SWE measurements
Original publication
Assessment of the elasticity of lipedematous tissue and the examination of the relationship between pain and fibrosis in lipedema. Int J Obes (Lond). Published 14 March 2026. doi:10.
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