Aesthetic Devices
57
SET the
tone Electro-muscle stimulation is bang on trend. With a fleet of new devices hitting the market in recent months, we explore the capabilities of the technology and the latest machines available to salons and clinics
E
lectro-muscle stimulation (EMS) has come a long way since its previous heyday in the ’80s and ’90s. Back then, the muscle-building, fat-reduction technology was usually applied to heavy belts fixed with velcro designed to tone the wearer’s abdominal muscles, which claimed to have the same effects as an intense ab workout. Now, leading manufacturers of non-invasive body-contouring devices have adopted and enhanced the basic concept of EMS to offer patients impressive results with no downtime and minimal to no discomfort during treatment. A 2016 study by Wolfgang Kemmler et al (Effects of Whole-Body Electromyostimulation versus HighIntensity Resistance Exercise on Body Composition and Strength) compared the effects of 16 weeks’ wholebody EMS with high-intensity resistance exercise on
body composition and strength, and observed “comparable or at least similar increases of muscle parameters” between the methods. The study’s authors concluded that EMS can be considered a time-efficient and effective option for people seeking to improve body composition. Since then, many device manufacturers have had their own studies carried out, deonstrating results for a broader range of indications. A study on the Truesculpt Flex device, for example, recorded an average of 30% increase in muscle mass and a modest reduction in fat thickness 12 weeks after a course of up to six treatments, while a study for BTL’s EMSculpt showed an average 19% reduction in fat and 15.8% increase in muscle thickness a month after five to eight sessions. Here’s what some of the aesthetic device brands and distributors have to offer when it comes to EMS.
professionalbeauty.co.uk
