Hello Bootcamp, burpees, and belly laughs. No more crossed legs, pads, or mad dashes to the bathroom needed. We now have Emsella – a non-invasive, easy to use machine to help us with pelvic floors that get weaker with age and traumatic events like childbirth!
Anyone who has suffered from a leak, big or small, when doing something as simple as coughing knows how debilitating and embarrassing a weakness like this can be.
Thankfully, women are starting to talk more about this common issue with empathy and compassion. Solutions are at hand.
I don’t have a seriously bad issue with it, but I am 47 and did give birth naturally twice, so there is no way of avoiding a leak here and there. My girls know that Mum just ‘doesn’t do trampolines” or too many Halloween fear farms. But perhaps that will all soon change with Emsella.
After using it for six sessions over the past few weeks at Blue Water Spa, I am less afraid to laugh out loud – especially on a full bladder.
Blue Water Spa has been consistently voted as one of the best medical spas in the Triangle (and North Carolina) and are a partner of ours. They offer the Emsella treatment at both their North Raleigh and Brier Creek locations.
What is Emsella and what is it for?
Emsella is an FDA cleared breakthrough treatment for incontinence. The machine effectively stimulates pelvic floor muscles which can lead to regained control over pelvic floor muscles and bladder.
It’s a chair that you sit on, which uses electromagnetic stimulation to contract your pelvic floor muscles.
I’m not a medical practitioner or expert, but I can tell you a basic summary of the pelvic floor muscles. They support the pelvic organs and span the bottom of the pelvis. The stronger they are the more you have over your bladder and bowel.
Weakened pelvic floor muscles mean your internal organs are not fully supported and you may have difficulty controlling the release of urine.
The involuntary leakage of urine can happen when pressure is exerted on the bladder – like coughing or exercising, or the sudden intense urge to urinate frequently or a combination of both.
Body aging, childbirth, and menopause can lead to incontinence.
Clinical studies have shown that of patients treated with Emsella, 67 percent reduced or eliminated the use of pads for urinary incontinence, and 95 percent reported a significant improvement in their quality of life.
Pre-COVID, the Emsella machine at Blue Water Spa was the only one around so women would travel from other nearby states just to experience the effects of this life changing technology.
Many clients have cried with joy at reclaiming some of their life back.
How does the emsella work?
I think it’s exciting that modern technology and science can invent machines that help people suffering from debilitating conditions like this.
Before this machine, our only options were laborious pelvic floor muscle exercises, or exercising these muscles with Kegels. Emsella does the Kegel exercises for you.
The Emsella Chair uses electromagnetic energy to deliver thousands of supramaximal pelvic floor muscle contractions in a single session. These contractions re-educate the pelvic floor muscles.
The electromagnetic stimulation can create 69 hours of Kegels in a 28-minute treatment, which is equivalent to 11,000 perfect Kegel’s. It effectively can save months of pelvic floor physical therapy.
How to Safely Prepare for an Emsella Treatment
One thing I’ve noticed the past couple of months working with Blue Water Spa is that they are meticulous about safety. There isn’t a lot to worry about with the Emsella – another reason it’s such an effortless therapy for women.
But you can ensure all safety protocols and procedures are met with your initial free consultation with a full-trained staff member. Any treatment at Blue Water Spa will start this way.
It’s important to see if this treatment is safe for you AND if it will be a good fit. For example, if you are pregnant or have an IUD, it may not be safe. Or, if your incontinence is at a level where you need a mesh, it may be a procedure that won’t work for you.
But do not take my word for it. Talk to the experts and they can advise you based upon your specific conditions. All consulting sessions at BWS are free!
It gives you an opportunity to have your questions answered and learn more about this pelvic floor strengthening machine. All consultations are private, confidential, and fully clothed.
Click to schedule a consultation Emsella at Blue Water Spa
Wear comfortable clothing to your treatment, which allows flexibility for correct positioning in the chair which will deliver electromagnetic energy.
Note that metal implants can interfere with the Emsella machine. So, it’s best that you avoid wearing zippers on the lower part of your body. Remove all belts and piercings in the abdominal and pelvic area, and it’s best not to wear jewelry or metal accessories.
Bring something to read while you’re sitting on the machine. Phones and laptops will interfere with the treatment so use this time for a digital break!
I managed to read quite a lot of my book, “Fast like a girl!”
The Emsella Experience at Blue Water Spa
The Emsella treatment is non-invasive, and you are fully clothed.
There’s nothing to do but relax and catch up on gossip magazines which are supplied for you in the room. There are also health magazines which may be a little more satisfying. Or, as mentioned, bring your own book, or journal and enjoy 30-minutes of forced device free time.
Be sure to grab some water (or LA Croix) from the Blue Water Spa lobby before your treatment and have it beside you. It’s always important to stay hydrated.
A fully trained staff member will operate the machine and will guide you through how it works, how it’s meant to feel, and what to expect. You can tell them whether you want to work on Phase 1 – urinary incontinence, or Phase 2 – improving sexual health.
This is something you will also go over in your consultation depending on what your goals for strengthening are.
The Emsella chair can be adjusted up and down to your comfortable height level. You will be told how to sit – in the middle over the pulsing part to the chair and slightly forward.
Staff will start the machine on a lower pulsing level, slowly increasing it to a level you feel comfortable with.
It’s not meant to hurt, and it doesn’t. You’ll feel tingling and muscle contractions as you sit on the machine, and you can control the intensity of the pulses.
It’s a machine that works your muscles, so there could be some muscle soreness after, although I did not experience this.
I started at 50% on my first go, going up to 70% at the halfway point. Then on my second session, I started at 75% going up to 85%. By my third session I could easily do 100%. But don’t worry if that is not you. Do what’s best for you. Craig reached 75% for his maximum.
Staff will check in halfway to see if you’re comfortable, and how high the vibrating plate can go. You decide based upon your comfort level. Every person is different. There is also a buzzer beside you to call a staff member if you need help.
How long is the treatment? And how many sessions do I need?
Your consultant will discuss your treatment plan and how many sessions you need. Usually, you’ll need about six sessions, and it’s recommended to have them spaced 2-3 days apart. We did two sessions a week for three weeks.
You will then slip into maintenance mode and have a session here and there throughout the year. But you will need to talk to your consultant about that.
A typical Emsella session lasts about 30-minutes so it’s easy to fit into your day.
Can men use the emsella?
It’s not just women who suffer from these issues, but men can as well. Craig also did six sessions to help strengthen his prostate and pelvic floor region as he has an enlarged prostate and sometimes feels the urge to urinate too frequently. While there have not yet been many studies done on the Emsella for men, many are seeing positive results. It certainly doesn’t hurt!
After the Emsella Treatment
Unlike the laser hair removal treatment I recently experienced at Blue Water Spa, once the treatment is finished there is nothing for you to implement or do once you leave. For example, with laser hair, you can’t expose the treated area to sun for two weeks or have a sauna for 48 hours.
But, with emsella, once you leave the medial spa, you can return immediately to your daily activities with no restrictions and no downtime required.
The results you experience are completely individual. The greater your issue the more you’ll notice. Some people experience a positive difference after the first session, but for most people it’s usually around session 4 or 5 where they start to notice.
THE BLUEWATER SPA DIFFERENCE
As mentioned, Blue Water Spa is a long-term partner of ours as we love their commitment to customer care and safety, and how they give back so positively to the Raleigh community.
They have been voted Best Medical Spa in North Carolina, and they offer a wide range of services from facials to fillers and their spa has more of a luxurious and relaxing atmosphere than a clinical one. They even have their own range of skin care products.
Blue Water Spa is owned and operated by Dr. Michael Law who is a board-certified plastic surgeon, and directly oversees all treatments, and his wife, Kile Law, who has over 11 years’ experience in training doctors and other aesthetic professionals on laser hair removal.
They stay up to date with the latest technology in the industry to provide their clients with the most effective treatments.
The BlueWater Spa team is made up of highly skilled and experienced professionals who have received extensive training in their respective fields. From massage therapists to skincare specialists, each staff member is dedicated to providing the best possible service to their clients.
It’s also evident that diversity and inclusion is an important value of the company.
BlueWater Spa is renowned for its warm and friendly customer service. They go the extra mile to ensure that each client feels comfortable and cared for, making their spa experience truly exceptional.
And one of my favorite reasons for partnering with them: BlueWater Spa is committed to reducing their environmental impact by using eco-friendly products and implementing sustainable practices. Blue Water Spa is a 1% for the Planet partner where they donate 1% of our annual sales to environmental causes and they are a proud partner with Trees for the Future.
A tree is planted for each patient that receives a service such as Botox, Filler, CoolSculpting, Emsculpt or Emsella. Overall, Blue Water Spa has planted over 439,000 trees.
In Summary
The Emsella is such an easy, affordable and non-invasive treatment. To me, it feels like a no-brainer for anyone experiencing pelvic floor distress of any kind. It can’t hurt, and there are studies to show that it will in fact give you relief – for many life changing.
I’ve even told my sister to find one in Australia and I’m trying to convince my father who has had prostate cancer and difficulties with his pelvic floor. The studies aren’t quite there with men yet, but it could be a very promising treatment.
As mentioned, my issue is not that challenging, but still not pleasant when it happens. Therefore, I wasn’t going to have a glaringly obvious result.
But I certainly noticed a difference. I have had very full bladder several times recently, especially while I’ve been exploring Greece. Each time I had that feeling of dread over what could come next if I didn’t hurry and find a bathroom – especially, when I had to sneeze.
But viola – nothing! I know for sure, a couple of months back if that had happened on an extremely full bladder like that I probably would have leaked before the sneeze. So that was quite a joyous feeling.
I’ve even tested it with a few star jumps and have stayed dry. And was able to spend a joyous twenty minutes Greek dancing with locals at a festival in Kalamata without a single issue!
I’m excited to see the results other women have from the Emsella machine, particularly those who are suffering badly from weakened pelvic floor muscles.
We can’t help it y’all. It’s just a natural part of aging – and for women even worse if you’ve given birth. Ah the sacrifices we make for our babies. It’s all worth it and now we have Emsella to help us suffer less in the after-childbirth life.
