At last a solution for women and men’s urinary issues, estimated to affect over 6 million people in the UK, and many millions more worldwide.
However, it is still seen as a taboo subject by many,and so many women, and men, suffer in silence, just putting up with these things as “one of the problems with getting older”. As we age, the muscles that hold our bladder and control continence often become weaker, and this can be exacerbated by the steep drop in oestrogen and collagen during the menopause, as well as vaginal childbirth, which puts great strain on the muscles in the area. Normally, these muscles, known as the pelvic floor muscles, hold the bladder tightly to give it support and create a muscular barrier that we need to consciously relax to urinate. However, if these muscles become stretched, weakened or damaged in some way, it can be harder to control the bladder, leading to leaking, dribbles and difficulty holding urine for long periods of time.
There are 3 common types of urinary incontinence; urge, stress and mixed, all of which may cause discomfort, embarrassment or loss of freedom. Many sufferers of incontinence have to plan their day around the nearest toilet, wear pads and ensure you have spare underwear with you. Sports and social activities also become difficult.
Here at The AL5, we are passionate about helping men and women feel better from the inside out.
What is the Emsella Chair?
The Emsella chair, created by award-winning medical and aesthetics manufacturer BTL, aims to help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles again and give patients back control of their bladder. It is a completely painless, non-invasive and non-surgical treatment used to improve the symptoms of incontinence and can be carried out in less than half an hour per session. Unlike many non-surgical incontinence treatments, it can be carried out fully clothed.
The Emsella chair uses HIFEM (High-Intensity Focused Electromagnetic) frequencies to independently target the pelvic floor muscles and muscles at the neck of the bladder. This causes the muscles to contract and release, in the same way standard kegel exercises do. However, with the Emsella chair, the muscles are given a workout equivalent to 11,000 kegel exercises per treatment session!
BTL Emsella is so effective as it contracts the pelvic floor muscles to what is called the supramaximal level. As the treatment targets the pelvic floor muscles directly, and doesn’t require neuromuscular control, they can contract far more than they would consciously, creating the highly effective results that we see from our patients that simply can’t be achieved using manual kegel exercises alone.
The Emsella treatment also triggers the body’s natural production processes to create new muscle fibres and proteins, which further strengthens and tones the pelvic floor and bladder muscles, and improves the neuromuscular links between the brain and the bladder, which helps significantly to treat the symptoms of urge incontinence.
What Can Emsella Treat?
Types of Incontinence
There are generally three common types of urinary incontinence: Stress incontinence, Urge incontinence and mixed incontinence. BTL Emsella technology can be used to treat all three.
Stress incontinence is the most common form of incontinence, and is characterised by a difficulty holding urine when the bladder is put under physical strain, such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, jumping or lifting heavy objects.
Stress incontinence occurs when the pelvic floor muscles and the muscles at the neck of the bladder become weakened. For many sufferers, this is caused by the muscles naturally weakening as we age. As collagen is lost, muscles all over the body weaken and lose tone, and the pelvic floor muscles are no exception.
Stress incontinence can also be caused by vaginal childbirth, as, unsurprisingly, the muscles in this area are put under significant strain during vaginal childbirth. Generally, regular continence is restored from around six weeks to three months after giving birth, however, in cases where there has been a particularly long, complex or difficult birth, multiple vaginal births or birth to larger babies, regular continence may not return without intervention.
Urge incontinence is caused when the detrusor muscles in the wall of the bladder don’t extend and contract in the way they normally should. Normally, the detrusor muscles expand as the bladder fills, and then contract as the bladder empties, in conjunction with the relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles. However, in cases of urge incontinence, the detrusor muscles contract irregularly, causing the sensation of needing to urinate, even when the bladder is empty or nearly empty. This is also known as an overactive bladder.
Urge incontinence is generally caused by an underlying condition, including diabetes, urinary tract infections (UTIs) or neuromuscular conditions.
Mixed incontinence occurs when the symptoms of both stress and urge incontinence are present, and can be caused by a variety of conditions, including a combination of stress and urge incontinence conditions.
Interstitial Cystitis / Painful Bladder Syndrome
IC/BPS is a chronic bladder condition that usually consists of multiple symptoms including recurring pelvic pain and/or urinary frequency and urgency where there is no known cause such as infection.
Vaginal Laxity
Vaginal laxity is caused when the vaginal tissue becomes loose or relaxed, and is associated with feelings of reduced tightness. It is most often caused by childbirth and ageing.
The Treatment
Patients can sit, read a book or magazine, and talk to friends and family fully clothed while having an Emsella treatment, without any embarrassment or discomfort. The session will last for 30 minutes and is painless, with no downtime.
The Process
We will carry out a full consultation process before your first treatment to go over the treatment processes, the kind of results you can expect from treatment and how the treatment works. We’ll give you the opportunity to tell us about your condition, any treatments you’ve tried in the past, the results you hope to see and your medical history, to ensure you’re suitable for treatment.
During the treatment you simply sit on the Emsella chair, fully clothed. You may feel your muscles tensing during treatment around your pelvic/vaginal area.
After treatment, there is no downtime, and you can get back to your day straight away. Some patients feel results straight away after the first treatment.
How many sessions would I need?
A course of 4-6 treatments are usually recommended to see optimum results, and some patients experience highly effective results from as soon as the first treatment. Results should last for 2 years before a top up is recommended.
With 1 in 5 men and women suffering with some form of pelvic floor dysjunction, there is no need to put up with it any longer! Book in with us and get your dignity, and your life back!
For more info and prices, click here.
