CoolSculpting®
Emsella
Urinary incontinence starts slowly. At first, it’s a leak during a hard sneeze or a heavy lift at the gym. Then it becomes more frequent. You find yourself getting up several times a night to use the bathroom (no wonder you’ve been feeling groggy lately). Eventually, you can’t exercise without worrying about an embarrassing accident, you’re nervous on long drives and you struggle to relax at work or social events. Now urinary incontinence is affecting your quality of life.
At Krch Aesthetic Medicine, we’re excited to bring the latest technology for treating urinary incontinence to Phoenix — BTL’s Emsella. Emsella strengthens the pelvic floor muscles by stimulating thousands of contractions per session. This unique technology treats the entire pelvic floor while you sit comfortably in the treatment chair and remain fully clothed. Contact us to request your Emsella consultation today.
Why Does Pelvic Floor Strength Matter?
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles located at the base of the pelvis. These muscles act as a support structure keeping various organs — including the bladder, the uterus (in women) and the prostate (in men) — in place. They also help maintain bladder and bowel control and play a role in sexual sensation and function.
When your pelvic floor is healthy, you can go to the bathroom without issues. Your body tightens and relaxes the pelvic floor muscles just like it does when using any other muscle. But if you have pelvic floor dysfunction, your muscles may be excessively tight or too relaxed, which prevents your body from contracting and relaxing them as it should.
Weakened pelvic floor muscles cannot fully support your internal organs and you may have difficulty controlling the release of urine. Targeted strengthening of these muscles can rehabilitate them, restore control and help you feel like yourself again.
What is Emsella?
From the makers of Emsculpt NEO, Emsella is a ground-breaking noninvasive treatment for incontinence. Emsella is a special chair equipped with electromagnetic energy technology that induces pelvic floor muscle contractions — a movement similar to Kegel exercises, but far more powerful than any pelvic floor training you could do on your own.
Over time, these contractions re-educate your pelvic floor muscles. They develop the strength to hold fluids in and support your bladder the way they’re supposed to. As a bonus, some people notice improved sexual sensation or performance, since the same muscles are involved in supporting the vaginal canal in women and erectile function and ejaculation control in men.
How Does Emsella Work?
The technology that powers Emsella is the same technology behind Emsculpt and Emsculpt NEO: high-intensity focused electromagnetic (HIFEM) energy. The Emsella chair (which some have colorfully dubbed the “Kegel Throne”) sends this energy through clothing and skin to trigger rapid supramaximal pelvic floor muscle contractions. This replicates the act of doing Kegel exercises, but eliminates the need to worry about doing them correctly and regularly. A single Emsella session is equal to performing thousands of Kegel exercises, and all it takes is 30 minutes.
What Conditions Can Emsella Improve?
Emsella is most effective for levels 0 and 1 stress urinary incontinence. With this type of incontinence, urine leaks when pressure is exerted on the abdomen and bladder. This commonly happens during:
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Laughing
- Jumping
- Heavy lifting
- Bending over
- Sex
- Exercise
Stress incontinence is especially common in women.
How Do I Know If I’m a Good Candidate for Emsella?
Emsella is an option for women of any age who are struggling with loss of bladder control. Female urinary incontinence is linked to a variety of causes, including pregnancy, childbirth, aging, menopause, hysterectomy and neurological disorders. Emsella may be the solution you’re seeking if:
- You leak urine when you exercise, sneeze, laugh or cough
- You use the bathroom frequently and often have to rush to get there
- Your fear of leaks prevents you from enjoying social activities
- You worry about losing control during intimate moments
- You hesitate to spend extended periods of time away from home
- You’re tired of spending money on adult incontinence products
Most people can safely undergo treatment with Emsella. Generally, the only patients who are not good candidates for Emsella are those who are pregnant, have certain medical conditions or have a pacemaker or other implanted metal device.
How Effective Is Emsella?
Five clinical studies have been published on Emsella to date. In these studies, 95 percent of patients report an improved quality of life after completion of the Emsella treatment program. Please note that individual results may vary with any medical treatment.
How Should I Prepare For Emsella Treatment?
You don’t need to do much before an Emsella treatment. The most important step of preparation is coming in for a consultation. During this initial meeting, we’ll confirm that Emsella is the right choice for your concerns and let you know what to expect from the treatment process.
Emsella is a noninvasive treatment, so you won’t need anesthesia and you won’t need to arrange for someone to take you home. You won’t even need to undress (incontinence can be embarrassing, but getting treatment for it shouldn’t have to be). We recommended wearing comfortable clothes and removing jewelry and any other metal accessories.
What Should I Expect After an Emsella Treatment?
There is no downtime following an Emsella treatment. You may resume daily activities right away, including work and exercise. Emsella doesn’t require you to make adjustments to your usual routine, and sessions are so short that you can easily squeeze them into a lunch hour or a break between errands.
What About Emsella For Men?
Good news, gents — Emsella is now FDA-approved for male urinary incontinence, too. Incontinence in men is often linked to prostate problems or their treatments. An enlarged prostate may affect the flow of urine, causing a weak stream, frequent urination or leaking. Stress incontinence can occur when the prostate gland is removed and the lower part of the bladder doesn’t have enough support. Other factors that may contribute to male incontinence include certain neurological disorders, smoking, being overweight and family history.
What is Emsella Treatment Like?
Your Phoenix Emsella treatment should be a comfortable and convenient experience. You’ll simply sit down on the chair, fully clothed, and relax until the session is complete. Feel free to read a book, watch your favorite show or catch up on the emails you’ve been ignoring.
A typical Emsella treatment takes about 30 minutes. You will feel your pelvic floor muscles contracting and a tingling sensation. It may feel unusual, but it won’t feel painful. You won’t need to take medication or use anesthesia during your treatment sessions.
What Results Can I Achieve with Emsella?
You may notice improved bladder control after a single Emsella session. On top of those immediate improvements, results typically continue to improve over the next few weeks. Results build gradually as your pelvic floor muscles become stronger.
How Many Emsella Treatments Will I Need?
Just like building strong muscles in the gym requires multiple workouts, most people benefit from undergoing a series of Emsella treatments. The most common treatment program consists of six 30-minute sessions. Doing two treatments weekly is ideal, but you can also do one per week for six weeks if that’s better for your schedule. You may also benefit from doing routine maintenance sessions after you’ve completed your initial series.
Pelvic Floor Health FAQ
What is the pelvic floor?
You might be sitting on it right now! Your pelvic floor muscles are located at the base of your torso, stretching side to side from one sit bone to the other and backward and forward from your tailbone to your pubic bone. These muscles are often likened to a hammock because of the way they support the organs in the pelvis and abdominal region.
Like other muscles in the body, our pelvic floor muscles can be consciously controlled. We can contract and relax them on cue, which is linked to some really important things related to bladder, bowel and sexual functions.
What does the pelvic floor do?
The short answer is: plenty. In addition to providing structural support so our organs stay in place, our pelvic floor muscles help control urination and bowel movements, assist with blood flow through the lower body, promote good posture and stability during movement, and help us enjoy healthy, happy sex lives. Performing so many critical functions requires these muscles to function properly and coordinate together seamlessly.
Is the pelvic floor different for men and women?
The basic design is the same, but some functions of the pelvic floor are slightly different for men and women.
For women, the pelvic floor is responsible for supporting the uterus and vagina. Women’s pelvic floor muscles also contribute to sexual sensation and arousal and provide support for a growing baby during pregnancy.
For men, the pelvic floor helps support the prostate and plays a part in erectile function and ejaculation.
Everyone’s pelvic floor helps with stability and posture, bowel and bladder continence, and maintaining comfort and quality of life.
What is pelvic floor dysfunction?
Pelvic floor dysfunction refers to symptoms that occur when the muscles of the pelvic floor no longer function optimally. Lots of things can go wrong with the muscles (tightness, weakness, spasming, developing scar tissue) or the nerves that feed them. When the pelvic floor muscles can’t do their jobs properly, various other parts or functions of the body can go haywire, too. These problems can be quite disruptive physically and emotionally, and they generally do not go away on their own.
What are the symptoms of a weak pelvic floor?
The inability to coordinate the contraction and relaxation of your pelvic floor muscles can manifest in a variety of uncomfortable ways, including:
- Urinary incontinence
- Urinary retention
- Frequent or sudden urge to urinate
- Pain with urination
- Bowel control issues
- Pelvic pain
- Low back pain
- Sexual dysfunction, including:
- Reduced sensation during sex
- Pain during intercourse or after orgasm
- Premature ejaculation
- Recurrent urinary tract infections
- Pelvic organ prolapse
What causes the pelvic floor to weaken?
Many factors can contribute to pelvic floor weakness. To some degree, weakening muscles are simply part of growing older. Aging is accompanied by hormonal changes and the gradual breakdown of bodily structures and processes that can reduce pelvic floor strength over time.
In addition, pelvic floor weakness can be associated with pregnancy and childbirth, pelvic injury or surgery, high impact exercise, repeated heavy lifting, muscle overuse (e.g., straining too hard when using the toilet), being overweight or chronic coughing — all things that can put significant pressure on the pelvis.
Can men experience pelvic floor dysfunction?
Yes! Although we often associate these issues with women due to the stresses pregnancy and childbirth place on the pelvic floor, men can also have pelvic floor dysfunction. A healthy pelvic floor is important for everyone. Some of the complaints commonly seen among men include bladder dysfunctions, testicular/perineal pain, abdominal pain, postsurgical pain, prostatitis and sexual dysfunction.
Are pelvic floor exercises effective?
Is good pelvic floor health all about Kegels? While some people do benefit from them, it’s easy to do Kegels incorrectly, and some people need a different approach entirely. There are many more types of pelvic floor exercise, plus a variety of other solutions such as pelvic floor physical therapy and Emsella treatments. An evaluation from a medical professional will give you targeted treatments and improved results.
What is the ‘Core to Floor’ program with Emsculpt NEO and Emsella?
BTL’s ‘Core to Floor’ program is the world’s first noninvasive whole core treatment. Using both Emsella and Emsculpt NEO, we can strengthen your pelvic floor and abdomen simultaneously for incontinence relief, enhanced sexual performance, improved muscle strength and better balance. Core to Floor sessions take less than one hour with no downtime.
