Physical therapy in the treatment of body aesthetics dysfunctions - literature review. Fisioterapia no tratamento das disfunções estéticas corporais - revisão de literatura.

Introduction: The aesthetic disorders, such as skin laxity, localized fat and cellulite, are common complaints among the population in general. The physiotherapy provides techniques for treatment of these dysfunctions noninvasively. Objective: To review the physical therapy techniques used to treat the body dysfunction aesthetic through a litera- ture review. Method: It was performed a literature review of studies published between September/1997 and Octo- ber/2013, in Portuguese or English, in the Scielo, PEDro, Pubmed, Lilacs e Medline database. Results: A total of 1.165 articles were found. Of these, 37 were potentially eligible after reading the title and summary, and a total of 11 stu- dies were included. The studies addressed some techniques like radiofrequency, combination of bipolar radiofrequency, infrared, vacuum and mechanical massage (Velashape), ultrasound of high intensity focused, cellulite cream, mecha- nical massage, lymphatic drainage and tissue manipulation, ultrasound of low intensity, and cryolipolysis. Conclu- sion: We conclude that the physical therapy techniques are effectives, safe and well tolerated by patients in the tre- atment of localized fat. They help to sculpt the body and to reduce cellulite. However, it is necessary to perform ran- domized controlled trials, with larger sample size, since the majority of the included studies are prospective and re-