What is Electromagnetic Body Sculpting?
Electromagnetic body sculpting is the latest modality for transferring energy into the subcutaneous fat to burn fat for the purpose of aesthetic body contouring.
Pros and cons reviewed here.
Disclaimers
Humble opinion for the purposes of learning here.
The big disclaimer would be to discourage anyone from generating a body sculpting treatment plan without a physician.
Also, make no attempt to achieve these results with anything you might buy at Brookstone or the like.
And, as exciting as electromagnetic body sculpting is, as with any body sculpting treatment plan, dual therapy with multiple modalities is always encouraged. And proceeding in a team approach, you and your physician, always produces the best results. You must find a physician that favors a team approach to this health care.
Discussion
Body sculpting by transferring energy non-surgically to burn fat is taking off. We have many modalities that produce energy transfer lipolysis including laser, heat, cryo-, and ultrasound, as well as the not completely non-invasive needle administration of chemicals that burn fat. All of these produce lipolysis secondary to fat burning. But while all of these produce the desired effect in that all of these burn fat, all of them have their pros and cons. Similarly, electromagnetic body sculpting has its advantages and disadvantages.
Electro magnetic energy is transferred in electromagnetic body sculpting. Fairly expensive machine, it surfaced for the first time publicly this year, after extensive trials showing great success and safety.
How Does Electro Magnetic Body Sculpting Work?
How does it work? You first need to understand the concept of supramaximal muscle contraction. The average person is able to contract their belly muscles or gluteal muscles about 20%. Olympic athletes, maybe 30%. With supramaximal contractions, electromagnetic body contouring technology can contract your muscle 95%. Now we’re talking! And it does so without a relaxation phase, so there is not a build up in lactic acid. Fascinating is that we are talking about the voluntary muscles here. But electromagnetic body sculpting techniques in current use are also helping to eliminate some visceral smooth muscle. That’s a deep burn, I’ll tell you what.
Patients who describe how they feel after therapy say it’s not unlike the best workout they ever had – – times four hours. But this takes 30 minutes folks! (and in truth it’s much more!). Kind of makes you wonder what the Olympics is going to say about it.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Electromagnetic Body Sculpting
So. A brief review of advantages and disadvantages in a bit of a heads up fashion against other body sculpting modalities that have been available to us for years.
Advantages. Of course, completely non-invasive. With no consumables, by the way. And… It’s effects are impressive, so that’s a big advantage over some modalities that have not stood the test of time.
But perhaps the biggest advantage over essentially all of the other treatment modalities to eliminate fat burning is that it also increases muscle mass. And not only does it increase muscle mass by hypertrophy (Swelling of the muscle cells without actually increasing number of muscle cells), it actually leads to brand new muscle cells. So actually new muscle fibers come forward following this therapy. Fat elimination, plus increasing muscle mass? By hypertrophy and hyperplasia both? Patients (and doctors) are thrilled. All of the other modalities wish they could claim this. This one finally can.
Disadvantages are few fortunately. Certainly, you cannot increase certain muscle mass areas like the pecs in an aging man or woman. The heart muscle lives under there; the risk is too great.
Also, this modality, like many of the modalities, produces heat generation. Heat generation In the subcutaneous tissue leads to inflammation. Inflammation leads to swelling, and this in turn leads to induration. Such induration can compromise motion. So there is some down time. Of all the fat burning body sculpting modalities, only nonthermal ultasound fat destruction can make the claim that it produces no heat generation. But you can’t have everything!
Is it Safe?
And perhaps another maybe not so subtle disadvantage: it’s brand new. I’m not the kind of physician that bandwagons. At least never too quickly. Let’s see what exciting testimonials its first year out brings, sure. But… What’s going to happen long term? It will take a few more years to figure out.
As in all of its other cousin modalities, it’s tolerance seems to be excellent. The body seems to handle the increased fat load heading to the liver with no remarkable abnormality seen in bloodwork in all of these body sculpting patients to date. It’s certainly an increased fatty acid load. But our bodies have been handling such in stride for years. It’s called weight loss. And our bodies know what’s good for them. To give you completely reassurance, those increased fatty acid loads are indeed headed to the liver, and not to some blood vessel to clot off. Fat loss this way is safe, folks.
Conclusion
Perhaps the best studied modality for body sculpting lipolysis pre-roll out to date, electromagnetic body contouring is now available if you want fat burning with muscle building. Investigators included CT, MRI, and ultrasound imaging in their pre-and post treatment studies In there before and after pictures. Patient satisfaction was tremendously high. Tolerance is good. And other than being slightly expensive, it’s limits are minimal. It’s first year out this year, it seems to be doing well. And it shows a lot of promise for the future.
Stay well,
DAVID ALLINGHAM, M.D.