Pressotherapy is initially a medical treatment but is now also carried out in beauty centers, useful for helping to drain excess fluids and to promote a more active peripheral circulation.

The circulatory system and the lymphatic system are the “districts” of the body that are affected by the beneficial effect of pressotherapy.

• When to resort to pressotherapy
• How pressotherapy works
• The pressotherapy treatment
• Contraindications to pressotherapy

When to resort to pressotherapy

Pressotherapy is a treatment indicated to counter, alleviate and often resolve some disorders related to poor circulation or to the side effects of some pathologies that slow down the physiological metabolic processes:

• lymphedema : lymphatic stagnation due to surgery in which lymph node ganglia have been removed;
• edema : swelling from lymphatic or venous insufficiency;
• venous insufficiency : swollen legs , with slowed venous return
• cellulite : edematous panniculitis, loss of tone and shape of both lower and upper limbs.

The beneficial effects of pressotherapy are manifold: it improves circulation, reduces non-infectious inflammatory states, improves skin oxygenation, redefines the shape of arms and legs, reduces cellulite, promotes purification of the organism.

How pressotherapy works

The word “ pressotherapy ” itself says it: it consists of localized pressures exerted by cushion bands in which jets of air at different pressures are blown with alternating rhythms . The bearing system is controlled by an electronic device where it is possible to set specific therapy programs, with personalized rhythms and pressures. 

The technique applied to this treatment is that of lymphatic drainage, which with a pumping action conveys the lymphatic stagnations to the lymph node stations to disperse edema and helps peripheral circulation .

The pressotherapy treatment

The parts that can be treated with pressotherapy are the upper limbs, the lower limbs and the abdominal and back bands. It is advisable to carry out the treatment between meals or even on an empty stomach. 

It is carried out comfortably lying down, wrapped in a cushion structure or bands, depending on the areas to be treated, and undergoes this “massage” exerted by air pressures, in a constant and rhythmic manner. 

The treatment can last from 30 to 50 minutes during which the mobilization of liquids and their drainage takes place and often at the end of a pressotherapy session the urge to diuresis is felt .

Contraindications to pressotherapy

Not everyone can undergo pressotherapy sessions, especially if suffering from diseases affecting the cardiovascular system:

• Venous thrombosis : phlebitis , thrombophlebitis are very serious pathological conditions that involve very serious inflammatory processes, and it is not recommended to proceed with direct treatments and manipulations on the parts involved;
• Arteriosclerosis : hardening of the arterial vessels;
• Diabetes mellitus : with a deficit of insulin secretion;
• Renal failure : inability of the kidneys to adequately filter fluids and toxins.

As a precaution , pressotherapy is also not recommended during pregnancy , although it could have a beneficial effect on the legs and reduce swelling.