Why the Emsella Chair is NOT the Solution for Bladder Leakage
The Emsella Chair
The Emsella chair is a device that promises to treat incontinence by providing high intensity electrical stimulation to the muscles of the pelvic floor, while the person sits on the chair for approximately 30 minutes each session. By stimulating the pelvic floor muscles to contract, the device claims to be strengthening the muscles, in order to treat bladder incontinence. The company’s own description is as follows: “Each session is equivalent to doing 11000 pelvic floor exercises but without the hard work!”
Have you ever heard the phrase, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is?”
How It Makes Symptoms Worse
Pelvic floor dysfunction, including stress incontinence, can arise from multiple different causes and therefore assuming why someone is leaking can mislead patients and cause more frustration (or symptoms). One very common reason why people experience stress incontinence (the form of bladder leakage that the Emsella chair specifically targets) is because the pelvic floor muscles are overly tensed. Other names for this include hypertonic pelvic floor or non-relaxing pelvic floor and is commonly seen with conditions such as Vaginismus, Dyspareunia, and Vulvodynia.
When the muscles are overly active two things usually happen👇
The muscles can’t produce the same force as normal because the muscle fibers are in a more shortened position. To put it another way, the muscles become weak and can’t withstand the pressure that daily activities impose.
Neuromuscular coordination gets thrown off and the muscles forget when to automatically contract - like when they need to instinctively activate against a cough, sneeze, run, etc.
As you can now imagine, causing muscles to repeatedly contract, when they’re already contracted will just further the dysfunction and can actually increase leakage. ❗Knowing WHY you’re having bladder leakage is an essential first step to determining the correct treatment. This is why seeing a Pelvic Floor Therapist is key.
What If I Need Strengthening?
💪 Some people have normal tension in their pelvic floor muscles and truly need a strengthening approach. So why wouldn’t the Emsella chair be a no brainer for these folks? Consider having a weak bicep muscle that you want to strengthen. Would you sit still and tense your arm muscle 11,000 times a day to achieve this? Of course not! You would most likely use body weight, resistance bands, or weights to work your arm against resistance in a way that mimics function. Have you ever heard of needing to do thousands of contractions at a time to strengthen ANY muscle? No personal trainer or physical therapist would ever tell you to do this. Working a muscle in a way that is functional, is key to teaching that muscle to be strong for that functional task.
As a separate but equally important note, muscles don’t work in isolation. Your biceps muscle works with your shoulder muscles, postural muscles, triceps, etc. Oftentimes, we need to not only strengthen the muscle of focus, but to integrate the surrounding structures so that everything can work functionally as a system. Your pelvic floor works in the same way - relying on hip strength and stability, foot and ankle support, and help from the back and abdominals we well.
How Pelvic Floor Therapy Is Different
Pelvic floor therapy gets to the root cause of your symptoms because your therapist is able to listen to your history and concerns and do a thorough evaluation to determine the reason behind your leakage. Then, and only then, can you be prescribed a personalized and effective treatment plan.
Some of the areas that must be included as part of treatment are:
Hip strength and stability (particularly with specific tasks your do or activities you participate in 🎾⛳)
Pelvic floor tone, strength, and coordination
Posture and trunk stability
Foot and ankle mobility for walking, running, or sport
Pressure management techniques
Bladder habits and hydration
Constipation management
As your progress through therapy, your treatment approach should evolve as well. The goals is to challenge your tissues in a way that builds resiliency and allow you to maintain your gains (or dryness) for the long run.
Important Takeaways 👇
By now, hopefully you can see that the Emsella chair is nothing more than a money maker.
❌ It provides the same “treatment” for all people, regardless of the underlying cause of their symptoms. You deserve better than that.
❌ It doesn’t help your pelvic floor muscles learn how to react to the demands of life during functional tasks. Maybe your pelvic floor can contract while sitting on a chair, but how about when you’re lifting your kids or jumping on a trampoline?
❌ It can make pelvic floor dysfunction worse, for those with overactive pelvic floors.
❌ It’s not something you can reproduce at home. In Physical Therapy, we’re all about giving you strategies to use on your own.
✨If you’ve been struggling with bladder leakage or any other symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, I’d love for you to consider working with us and getting you relief. We have both in-person and virtual options available, for your convenience.
