Stress incontinence is leaking when the bladder is squeezed: a cough, a sneeze, a laugh, a run, lifting a child. It is the most common kind of incontinence in women, it usually starts after childbirth or around the menopause, and it is the kind most of the Emsella studies treated. In the main published study, the stress incontinence group's symptom scores fell by 67% at three months. A course is six sessions of 28 minutes, twice a week over three weeks, sitting fully clothed, at Emsella Clinic, 8 Devonshire Place, with the price in writing at a free consultation.
Why the chair suits stress incontinence
Stress incontinence is most often a pelvic floor that no longer closes the bladder outlet firmly enough under pressure. That is a muscle problem, and the chair trains the muscle. HIFEM, high intensity focused electromagnetic energy, from the seat makes the whole pelvic floor contract thousands of times a session, at an intensity and a rate you cannot reach with exercises alone. The chair is FDA-cleared in the US for urinary incontinence in women and men by rehabilitating weak pelvic muscles and restoring neuromuscular control (the nerves' control of the muscles). The clearance does not name stress incontinence as such, and the studies below are where the stress figures come from.
What the studies measured
- 75 women (2019), half with stress incontinence: symptom scores about 50% lower after the sixth session and about 64% lower at three months, with the stress group improving by 67%. Of the 43 pad users, 44% needed no pads at three months.
- 95 women who had given birth (2021): the 50 who had ten HIFEM sessions improved on a pelvic floor distress score by 52%, against 18% for the 25 on electrical stimulation; a companion paper measured the pelvic floor's electrical activity rising by 48 to 59%.
- 35 women (2024): scores 60% lower at one month.
After childbirth
The pelvic floor stretches in pregnancy and birth and does not always recover its tone; leaking on a sneeze a year or ten years later is common and is not something to put up with. We treat from three months after a birth, once you have healed and whether the birth was vaginal or a caesarean; the first three months rule the chair out. Pelvic floor exercises before and after the course help the result hold, and the clinician shows you how.
With age and after the menopause
Falling oestrogen after the menopause thins the tissues and weakens the pelvic floor, and stress leaking often starts or worsens then. In a 2024 randomised study of 50 postmenopausal women, adding the chair twice a week for 12 weeks to daily pelvic floor training improved pelvic floor strength and quality of life more than the training alone. The chair is used at any adult age.
The course and the result
Six sessions, twice a week, over three weeks; no downtime. In our experience some people notice fewer leaks after one or two sessions. The result builds for three months after the course and, in our experience, holds for around six to twelve months, with a top-up session every six months or so. We review your score at the end of the course and at six months. The sessions page and the how long it lasts page cover the detail.
Who should see a doctor first
Blood in the urine, pain, a sudden change in symptoms or leaks that started with a new medicine need your GP first. If your leaks come with a dragging feeling or a bulge, tell us when you book: the clinician assesses for prolapse at the free consultation and tells you whether the chair is right for you or what to do next, and a prolapse at stage 3 or above rules the chair out.
Book a free consultation
Call Emsella Clinic on 0207 099 9659 or use the form below. The clinician goes through your symptoms, fills in the ICIQ-SF score, a short questionnaire on how often and how much you leak, with you, and sets out the course and its price in writing. The full Emsella guide covers the rest.
