Millions of Americans are frustrated with the appearance of stubborn body fat, and sometimes, no matter how many crunches you crunch or carbs you cut, the fat just won’t go away. Technology has provided us with non-invasive body sculpting techniques that can melt away this stubborn body fat. At Pure Wellness Therapy in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, we offer Emsculpt, one such body sculpting treatment. This popular treatment has the power to flatten out a tummy bulge, lift the butt, and give muscular definition to the thighs.
Emsculpt: How Does It Work?
Emsculpt works by targeting the muscles beneath the stubborn pockets of body fat and making them contract, essentially giving them a super-intense workout you could never get in a gym. It’s approved by the FDA to treat the belly, thighs, and buttocks, and it can increase muscle mass by up to 16%. When applied to the belly, it can reduce waist size by as much as 19%. Here’s how it works: the Emsculpt device is placed on the area of treatment, where it emits an electromagnetic pulse that penetrates the skin down to the muscle. That’s actually where this treatment gets its name: the em stands for “electromagnetic.” This pulse forces the muscles to rapidly contract to the tune of 20,000 times in just thirty minutes. In other words, one round of this body sculpting treatment is akin to doing 20,000 crunches or squats in a half hour. These contractions are known as “supramaximal contractions,” and they both build muscle and burn fat far faster than a traditional workout ever could.
Building Muscle
Whenever we work out, we are damaging our muscles and wearing them down. As our body recovers, it reverses that damage, rebuilding and repairing our muscle tissues. When it does, it rebuilds them stronger and firmer than before in an effort to protect them from further damage. The supramaximal contractions provided by this treatment essentially provide a supercharged version of this process, which results in a deep restructuring of the inner structure of the targeted muscles. Unlike a traditional workout, just a few treatments of Emsculpt are enough to provide a visibly flatter stomach, more shapely rear, or firmer thighs.
Burning Fat
When muscles work as hard as they do during this electromagnetic treatment, they need calories, and they need them fast. That’s why this treatment is so adept at not just burning fat, but destroying fat cells outright. Destroying fat cells is no small feat, either. Fat cells in the human body have a few unique properties. Most notably, they are seldom created or destroyed. In fact, the number of fat cells you have has barely changed since you left adolescence behind (unless you’ve had a non-invasive body sculpting treatment before, of course). Instead of creating new fat cells when we gain weight and shedding them when we lose weight, the cells themselves expand and contract accordingly. That’s one major reason why areas of the body where fat collects are so hard to tone: no matter how much fat you burn, the cells are still there. Emsculpt’s supramaximal contractions change that, though. The electromagnetic pulses unleashed by this treatment force the muscles to work so hard that they release fatty acids, which break down entire fat cells to feed the hard-working muscles. In other words, this treatment forces the body to destroy fat cells outright in a way it rarely, if ever, does on its own. Because the body creates new fat cells about as often as it destroys existing ones, once those fat cells are gone they’re never coming back. While this treatment’s main purpose is to build muscle, destroying fat cells is a very welcome side effect.
What’s Treatment Like?
The entire treatment takes about thirty minutes from start to finish. If you’re having your buttocks or thighs treated, it will take a half-hour for each side, or one hour total. It is administered through a patented device. A rubber pad is placed on the area of treatment, and it’s through this pad that the electromagnetic pulses are delivered. These pulses are staggered in intensity, so you’re not getting the most intense version of them from start to finish. In fact, our professionals can dial the intensity up or down according to what you can tolerate. The treatment itself is not painful, but you will certainly feel it. The fast contractions will leave you feeling as though you just did an especially intensive targeted workout. The upside is that you don’t have to move, so you’re free to watch a show on your phone, read a book, or even get some work done. After thirty minutes, your treatment will be complete and you can go right back to your daily routine with no downtime for recovery. The process is so quick and easy that you can even come to our office over your lunch break, receive a treatment, and head right back to the office with no one the wiser.
Are There Any Side Effects?
You may feel as though you’ve just put yourself through a particularly intense ab workout. Even then though, the soreness won’t be as bad as you might expect. Lactic acid buildup is one of the chief causes of muscle soreness, and this treatment works the muscles so quickly that it actually flushes lactic acid out of the treated area. This means that the muscles are often less sore than they might be after a normal workout.
How Many Treatments Will I Need?
We recommend an initial course of four treatments over a two-week period. After that, you’ll watch your results develop. It will take some time for the muscles to rebuild themselves and your results to become visible. You’ll be able to feel the difference immediately, but it won’t become visible for two to four weeks after the initial treatment wraps up. Your results can continue to develop for several weeks after that too, improving over time. This happens because it takes the body time to flush out any fat cells destroyed by the treatment.
Are the Results Permanent?
Emsculpt is a unique body sculpting treatment in that it targets two elements instead of one. Most body sculpting technologies, like CoolSculpting or Kybella, only target body fat. This one targets muscle and, in so doing, burns fat. Any fat cells destroyed as a result of the supramaximal contractions this treatment causes are gone for good, but the muscle gains are not permanent. Just like muscles lose strength if you stop going to the gym for a while, the treated muscles will lose firmness and strength over time if you don’t keep working them. Working out regularly can help maintain your results, but many people choose to come back once every six months or even just once a year for regular “maintenance” treatments to ensure that their newfound muscular definition stays visible. Others, however, find that finally seeing the abs they’ve always wanted or having the perfect rear end motivates them to work harder, and those people may be able to maintain their results without further treatment. This treatment can also burn fat without destroying fat cells. This results in the decreased appearance of body fat, but just like going to the gym, if you lapse and start gaining weight, the bulges melted away by your treatment can and will return.
Is It Safe?
This treatment uses the body’s own natural processes to strengthen muscle and burn fat. Whenever we make our body move, our brain sends an electrical signal to the part being moved. In this case, the device administering electromagnetic pulses is just providing a supercharged version of those brain signals. The body responds accordingly, accelerating the recovery process it undergoes after a workout. In other words, this treatment is like packing months’ worth of strenuous workouts into one, highly-focused half hour. It uses no chemicals, medication, or other manmade elements. It’s all your muscles.
Can Emsculpt Work for You?
Not everyone is a perfect candidate for this treatment. In order for it to be effective, you have to fit certain criteria. In this section, we’ll break down what makes someone a good candidate, or not a candidate, for this treatment.
Good Candidates
People In Good Overall Shape
It’s important to note that this and other body sculpting treatments are not meant for weight loss or the treatment of obesity. They are aesthetic treatments only. In the case of Emsculpt, it can firm up muscles and burn fat but won’t help lower blood pressure or provide any of the other benefits of a healthy diet and regular exercise. If your goal is to lose weight, you should speak with your physician and formulate a diet and exercise plan that works for you. That said, if you already lead a healthy lifestyle and are looking for a way to firm up your belly, butt, or thighs and burn stubborn fat that hasn’t responded to your diet and exercise routine, this treatment might be what you’re looking for.
People Who Want to Tone Up
It’s also important to note that this treatment is focused on toning up muscles more than it is burning fat. Burning fat is a great side effect, and it is definitely a noticeable one. That said, if your primary goal is to get rid of body fat you might want to consider a treatment more like CoolSculpting, which is designed to treat fat first and foremost. If, however, you’re in good shape and want to firm up your abs to reveal a six-pack, or if you want to get the effects of a butt lift without going under the knife, this treatment is a great option. The ideal candidates for it are men and women in good overall shape who want to increase overall muscular definition and tone in the three areas it can target.
People Recovering From Certain Injuries
This treatment is somewhat popular among athletes and others with sports injuries for its ability to quickly strengthen certain muscle groups. In fact, physical therapists will sometimes recommend this treatment to people looking to speed up their recovery. If you’ve had an injury that has kept you out of the gym, and you’re ready to get back into it, a few rounds of supramaximal contractions can help you skip weeks’ worth of work in the gym. Before using this treatment for this purpose, be sure to speak to your doctor and ensure that your muscles are ready for such an intense workout.
Women Post-Pregnancy
Women who have just given birth often suffer from a condition called diastasis recti. This refers to the separation of the lower large abdominal muscles, which can create the appearance of a belly bulge. In some cases, the stomach still retains the appearance of pregnancy weeks or months after birth. There is no outright cure for this condition, but this treatment has been shown to reduce its appearance by as much as 11% while also toning the abdominal muscles overall.
Not Candidates
People With a Lot of Generalized Body Fat
When it comes to burning fat, this treatment works best for people who have localized pockets of fat to treat. Those with generalized body fat, which refers to a layer of body fat that covers a larger area, will not notice much of an improvement with this treatment. Large amounts of body fat may also prevent the electromagnetic signals themselves from penetrating deep enough to properly stimulate the targeted muscles.
Anyone With Metal Implants
People with metal implants, including screws and pacemakers, are not candidates for this treatment. That makes sense when you consider that it basically consists of using a powerful magnet to send pulses through the body. The treatment itself is perfectly safe, but the equipment used is as powerful as an MRI machine, and caution should be taken accordingly when it comes to any metal implants. If you’d like to learn more or see if any exception can be made, come talk to us.
People With a History of Muscle Problems
The supramaximal contractions caused by this treatment may exacerbate muscular conditions and problems. For example, if you have a history of complicated hernias, inducing supramaximal contractions on the stomach may make the condition worse. If you are unsure if you have or have had a condition that may affect your ability to undergo this treatment, consult with your physician.
Pregnant Women
Women who are pregnant are advised not to use this treatment on any part of the body. While there is little evidence that undergoing this treatment during pregnancy is dangerous, not enough studies have been done to prove otherwise. No provider will perform this treatment on a pregnant patient. On the other hand, this treatment is perfectly safe for women both before and after pregnancy.
Call Us Today!
Getting a six-pack or a noticeably firmer butt with just four half-hour treatments might sound too good to be true, but this treatment is FDA-approved and has worked for thousands of people all over the country. If you think you fit the criteria listed above and want to learn more, contact us at Pure Wellness Therapy in Palm Beach Gardens, FL to schedule your initial consultation today!
