These days, many women – and men, too – are looking into the newest ways to transform and improve their bodies. Most want a nonsurgical treatment that tones muscles for a more sculpted, defined physique along with stronger muscles.
Fortunately, a new scientific procedure has been developed to address these concerns. EMsculpt® treatments are enabling many people to achieve their dream bodies with virtually no downtime. In fact, research has shown that each treatment session offers the equivalent of 20,000 crunches or squats in a thirty-minute period. To put that in perspective, if an athlete regularly does fifty crunches per day, it would take over a year to do as many as in a single EMsculpt® treatment.
The benefit is that patients won’t need to spend as much time working out and are able to enjoy their new toned figure even sooner. EMsculpt® is proving to be the newest and best option for people who don’t have a lot of excess fat but want a more sculpted, muscular figure.
What Exactly is EMsculpt®?
EMsculpt® is a nonsurgical, noninvasive body sculpting procedure that builds muscle and burns fat by inducing muscle contractions with electromagnetic energy. It can tighten, tone, and strengthen the large muscle groups of the abdomen and buttocks, as well as those of smaller body areas, including the upper arms, thighs, and calves—creating more definition and reducing circumference.
So how does it work? Using high-intensity, focused electromagnetic energy (HIFEM), the EMsculpt® device delivers electromagnetic pulses to the muscle tissue and creates supramaximal muscle contractions, activating more muscle fibers than do the contractions one would achieve through normal exercise.
One 30-minute session produces nearly 20,000 muscle contractions. Contracting repeatedly without rest stresses the muscles, triggering rapid changes at the cellular level that make them grow bigger and stronger. To supply energy for so many muscle contractions, neighboring fat cells break down through a process called lipolysis to release fatty acids. Fat cells are damaged to the point where they die, and the body naturally eliminates them. The result of the combined action of muscle tightening and fat-cell destruction is stronger, more well-defined muscles. Four sessions, typically spaced two to three days apart, are recommended over a two-week period.
What Are the Benefits of EMsculpt®?
There are many benefits of this new treatment, available at top dermatologists in the Detroit area. First and foremost, EMsculpt® is nonsurgical; it doesn’t require anesthesia, and there’s no downtime afterward. While CoolSculpting® and similar techniques simply remove fat, EMsculpt® primarily tones muscles. It can be a good option for people who don’t have a lot of excess fat but want a sharper, well-defined physique. It’s a fat-reduction option for people who aren’t candidates for liposuction and non-surgical body contouring treatments because they don’t have enough body fat. Most patients reported an impressive increase in muscle tone, and some even noted a boost in strength that helped them achieve more during their workouts.
As great as this sounds, patients must remember that a healthy diet and regular exercise are essential to maintaining their EMsculpt® results. And those with a few extra pounds to lose may not see much of a change because the fat can act as a barrier between the magnetic coil and the muscles, reducing the strength of the muscle contractions during treatment.
What Type of Patients Are Good Candidates for EMsculpt®?
The procedure suits people who are already relatively fit and want to firm up. “The ideal candidate is really anyone who’s looking to get stronger muscles and a stronger core, someone who wants to be tighter and burn fat,” says a leading dermatologist. It works best for those who have less than an inch of pinchable fat in the treated area, according to research led by a medical advisor to EMsculpt’s manufacturer, BTL.
What Happens During an EMsculpt® Treatment?
When it’s time for a patient’s first treatment, they will lie on a table, and the paddle-like applicator attached to the EMsculpt® machine will be gently strapped onto the targeted treatment area. Each treatment session lasts approximately thirty minutes.
The doctor will start the device on its lowest setting. As it begins sending high-intensity electromagnetic energy to the targeted muscles, the patient will feel their muscles contract. The doctor will gradually increase the intensity as much as can be tolerated while still keeping the patient comfortable. After the first session, most are able to start their sessions at higher settings. The contractions will cycle through different phases. The EMsculpt® machine will contract the targeted muscles thousands of times in just a few seconds.
How Soon Will Results Be Visible?
Patients who are relatively fit may see improvements after their first EMsculpt® session. After the recommended four sessions over a two-week period, good candidates for the procedure should see an increase in muscle tone and a reduction in fat in the treated areas.
What Results Can One Expect to See from EMsculpt®?
Clinical studies conducted by EMsculpt’s manufacturer, BTL, show reductions in waist size and fat and increases in muscle mass. The study showed muscle mass increased by about 15%, while fat decreased by nearly 19% after four sessions.
EMsculpt® Keeps Working
Another benefit of EMsculpt® is that it keeps working after the last session is finished: the muscles should continue to grow and fat to shrink in the six months after the procedure. In one clinical study, the EMsculpt® treatments reduced patients’ waist sizes by an average of nearly 2 inches.
Doctors caution that EMsculpt® isn’t a miracle treatment or a substitute for a healthy lifestyle. Prospective patients need to have realistic expectations while understanding the goal is to improve the tone and muscle mass. The muscle that is gained will be retained only with exercise and maintenance treatments. Follow-up sessions every six months to a year, paired with regular exercise, will help to maintain results.
While no adverse side effects have been reported, doctors say that patients shouldn’t have EMsculpt® treatments if they’re pregnant, have a pacemaker or other implanted electronic device near the treatment site, or have any other medical conditions that could make the device’s electromagnetic field dangerous.
Those wishing to improve the look of their muscles while losing fat should contact any of the top doctors of dermatology in the Detroit area to find answers to any questions they may have about the new EMsculpt® treatments.