The Emsella chair is a medical device that uses focused electromagnetic energy to strengthen pelvic floor muscles without any needles, surgery, or even removal of clothing. You sit fully clothed on what looks like a large, padded chair while it delivers thousands of rapid muscle contractions to your pelvic floor over about 28 minutes. It’s FDA-cleared for treating urinary incontinence in both men and women, and it’s increasingly used for a range of pelvic floor issues from postpartum recovery to post-prostatectomy leakage.
How the Chair Works
The Emsella uses a technology called high-intensity focused electromagnetic energy, or HIFEM. A coil built into the seat generates pulsed electromagnetic fields that penetrate deep into the pelvic floor muscles, triggering powerful contractions you couldn’t achieve on your own. A single 28-minute session produces roughly 11,000 of these contractions, far more than you could manage doing Kegel exercises manually over weeks or months.
The session cycles through phases: an initial intense “awakening” of deconditioned muscles, followed by stimulation and relaxation periods. This pattern forces the pelvic floor muscles to adapt and remodel over time, similar to how strength training works for any other muscle group. The contractions also enhance blood flow and improve the nerve-to-muscle signaling that controls bladder function.
What It Treats
The device is FDA-cleared specifically for rehabilitation of weak pelvic muscles and restoration of neuromuscular control for urinary incontinence. That covers the three main types: stress incontinence (leaking when you cough, sneeze, or exercise), urge incontinence (sudden, hard-to-control urges to urinate), and mixed incontinence, which combines both.
Clinical studies using standardized incontinence questionnaires show improvement in symptoms regardless of which type of incontinence patients had. Pad usage, one of the most practical measures of improvement, was cut in half in some studies. Patients also reported fewer daily leakage episodes overall. The improvements aren’t always dramatic for everyone, but for many people the reduction is enough to meaningfully change daily life.
Benefits for Men
Though pelvic floor issues are more commonly associated with women, the Emsella is cleared for men as well. One of the most common applications is helping men recover bladder control after prostatectomy, the surgical removal of the prostate. During that procedure, one of the valves regulating urine flow is removed along with the prostate, and many men experience leakage during workouts or toward the end of the day. Emsella treatments have shown promise in restoring that control.
There’s also a connection to erectile function. The pelvic floor muscles play a direct role in maintaining erections by compressing the veins that keep blood in the penis during arousal. When those muscles are weak, they can’t maintain that compression effectively. Strengthening the pelvic floor with Emsella can improve neuromuscular control and blood flow, which may help men who struggle with maintaining erections due to pelvic floor weakness specifically.
Postpartum Recovery
Pregnancy and vaginal delivery stretch and weaken the pelvic floor considerably, and many new mothers deal with stress incontinence for months or even years afterward. Most women can begin Emsella treatments about six weeks after giving birth, though the exact timing depends on individual recovery. The appeal for postpartum patients is straightforward: it’s noninvasive, requires no physical effort during a time when energy is scarce, and compresses what would be months of pelvic floor rehabilitation into a few weeks of seated sessions.
What a Treatment Course Looks Like
The standard protocol is six sessions, scheduled twice per week, meaning the full course takes about three weeks. Each session lasts roughly 28 minutes. You sit on the chair fully clothed, and the intensity is gradually increased during the first session so you can get used to the sensation. Most people describe it as an intense tingling and tightening in the pelvic area. It’s not painful, but it’s a strong, unusual feeling.
There’s no downtime. You can return to normal activities immediately after each session. Results typically develop progressively over the treatment course and continue improving in the weeks that follow as the muscles continue to remodel.
Who Should Avoid It
Because the device generates a strong electromagnetic field, it’s not suitable for everyone. You should not use the Emsella chair if you have:
- Cardiac pacemakers or implanted defibrillators
- Implanted neurostimulators or drug pumps
- Metal implants in the spine or hip (hip and knee implants may be a relative contraindication depending on the type)
- Penile implants
- Copper IUDs
- Active pregnancy
- Hemorrhagic conditions or anticoagulation therapy
- Malignant tumors in the pelvic area
- A history of active seizures
- Recent pelvic floor surgery
If you have any metal hardware in your body, that’s a conversation to have with the provider before scheduling. The electromagnetic field can interact with metal, so the type and location of the implant matters.
Cost and Practical Considerations
Emsella treatments are typically offered at urology clinics, medical spas, and some dental or wellness practices that have expanded into pelvic health. The treatment is generally not covered by insurance, since it’s considered an elective procedure. Out-of-pocket costs vary by provider and location, but a full course of six sessions usually runs between $1,500 and $3,000. Some providers offer per-session pricing or package deals. Maintenance sessions every few months are sometimes recommended to sustain results, adding to the long-term cost.
The Emsella isn’t a replacement for surgical options in severe cases of incontinence, and it won’t work for incontinence caused by structural damage that requires repair. But for mild to moderate pelvic floor weakness, it offers a genuinely noninvasive option that requires nothing more than sitting in a chair.