Urinary incontinence is more prevalent than ever before and is one of the many symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction. Despite the stereotype, I see pelvic floor dysfunction with or without incontinence, in people in their late teens to twenties quite often. If you have urinary incontinence you also have pelvic floor dysfunction! This is why just working on the ‘floor’ when the ‘house’ is unstable means the incontinence issue WILL come back. I have written a blog on urinary incontinence that you may want to read as an adjunct to this blog.
What Is The Emsella Treatment?
The Emsella chair is an FDA-approved machine for urinary incontinence that provides 400 Kegels contractions a minute to the muscles of the pelvic floor. The pelvic floor muscles can be accessed internally and externally for manual therapy purposes. The internal muscles have 3 layers while the external muscles not only involve the muscles of the pelvis but more! This includes muscles on the outside of the pelvis, muscles originating from the pelvis going to other body parts, and vice versa. Please read my blog which explores the internal muscles of the pelvic floor to better understand what the anatomy of the area is.
The Emsella treatment consists of sitting on the chair for 28 minutes for no less than 6 visits. This is at a frequency of two times per week, according to the makers of the machine. I personally think that while it may improve the degree of urinary incontinence, the chair should serve as an adjunct to other parts of the treatment for pelvic floor dysfunction. This includes:
This way all aspects of pelvic floor dysfunction are addressed. Remember, you don’t think about ‘flooring’ when the “house” is not stabilized right?
In my blog: “Alternatives to manual treatment of pelvic floor dysfunction”, you will learn the list of what it takes to address pelvic floor dysfunction thoroughly.
How Do You Sit On The Emsella Chair?
While the makers of Emsella don’t have a specific instruction other than sitting on the chair, you will find the instruction in our clinic is very unique. The ads for other places that have the chair show people casually sitting on the chair with their legs crossed and reading a magazine but in our clinic, we are diligent about how you sit on the chair. At our clinic:
- Your feet need to be flat on the floor.
- Posture should be sitting upright with a neutral spine vs hyper-extended or slouched.
- The sensation of the machine working should be between the vagina/penis, anus, and the tissue in between.
- We check the positioning every 5-10 minutes to maximize the effects of the Emsella chair in each session.
How Does The Emsella Chair Work?
According to BTL Emsella operational manual, ” This non-invasive therapeutic device produces an electromagnetic field that interacts with the tissue of the human body. Mainly affected structures are muscular and neuronal tissue. Results of the interaction with the tissue include muscular contraction, depolarization of neuronal cells, and influence on blood circulatory system.”
How Much Are Emsella Treatments?
Emsella chair treatments typically range from $300-500 per session. In our clinic, each chair session is followed by a 30-minute functional exercise, which you won’t see anywhere else! As we know, just working on Kegels is not going to cure urinary incontinence and its associated muscular issues. Even more so, Kegel exercises are not suitable for non-relaxing types of incontinence.
Will Insurance Pay for Emsella?
No. The Emsella chair is not covered by any insurance plan, however, patients have used their HSA and FSA for this service as it is a part of an office visit which is a covered service.
If you have any other questions about the Emsella chair that are not covered in this blog, please visit my page on the most commonly asked questions on the Emsella chair and if you have pelvic floor dysfunction and are tired of the returning symptoms, make sure to contact me.
Dr. Shakib