EMS Muscle Sculpting Supporting Research

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35985005/ 

• Twenty studies in total were included. Body sites evaluated included the abdomen (378 patients), buttock (156 patients), arms (22 patients), and calves (15 patients).
• Electromagnetic muscle stimulation represents an effective therapeutic intervention for abdominal contouring that yields increased muscle thickness, and reduced abdominal fat thickness, for up to 1 year after treatment. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30302767/ 

• An increase in the abdominal muscle mass was observed in 95% (n = 21) of patients. The muscle growth was relatively consistent, with majority of patients showing an increase in the range of 10–20%. 
• On average a statistically significant improvement was observed in all three measurements when comparing the 2‐month follow‐up to the baseline—a reduction in adipose tissue thickness (−18.6%), an increase in rectus abdominis thickness (+15.4%) and a reduction in abdominal separation (−10.4%). In total 91 % (n = 20) of patients improved in all three facets simultaneously. No other structural changes in the tissues were observed.
• No adverse events occurred. The only noticed side effect was mild muscle soreness 1 day after the first treatment reported by six patients; in all cases the soreness resolved itself within the next 24 hours.
• 6‐Month Data - Based on MRI evaluation, the muscle thickness continued to grow and the abdominal separation continued to shorten in all four randomly selected patients when compared to the 2‐month follow‐up.
• The MRI scans presented herein show a reduction in adipose tissue not immediately after the treatments, but 2 months after the last procedure. A possible explanation for the lasting reduction in fat is that the lipolytic reaction is so intense, releasing large amount of free fatty acids (FFA) which intoxicate the adipocytes and trigger their death. This cell reaction has already been shown in multiple studies in other fields of medicine.
• At the baseline, only one patient suffered from actual diastasis recti as per the medical definition (i.e., gap >2.7 cm). Still 91% of subjects showed an improvement. This suggests that the application can not only help severely affected individuals, but is effective on most individuals regardless of their condition.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33543566/

• The average baseline BMI of 23.5 ± 3.5 kg/m2 remained unchanged. The waist circumference decreased on average by 3.9 ± 3.1 cm from 81.1 cm at baseline to 77.2 cm after the last treatment.
• HIFEM procedure was safe since the posttreatment scans did not show any signs of abdominal trauma. Out of 22 treated subjects, 18 (82%) showed a measurable decrease in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) at 1‐month follow‐up, and 15 subjects (68%) exceeded the reduction of VAT by 10%.
• The subjects with sedentary lifestyle and noticeable “pot belly” showed greater potential for a change in VAT.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33584965/ 

• The results showed a very high patient satisfaction after the last treatment and even after two months without any adverse events or side effects. The loss of abdominal circumference, in almost all patients, with simultaneously nearly unchanged BMI values shows the efficacy of the treatment in all patients.
• In particular, it was patients with low BMI (below 25) achieved very good results.
• Our study observed a fat reduction of 15.7 percent and muscle increase by 26.1 percent, measured eight weeks posttreatment. The more prominent muscle thickening and lower fat reduction seen in this study could be attributed to the composition of the study group, which was of low BMI.
• The HIFEM procedure seems to be a suitable option for patients with lower BMI measurements, although people with a higher BMI, here up to 32.8, were also satisfied with the treatment outcome. Combination therapy with other fat-reducing procedures could also be considered an effective option for these patients.
• Clinical evidence shows that HIFEM therapy can induce an average reduction in the abdominal circumference of 4.37cm. Other current technologies attribute reductions in abdominal circumference to fat reduction alone, while with the HIFEM procedure, reductions in abdominal circumference appear to be attributed to a combination of fat reduction and reparation of the rectus musculature.
• The practitioners and the patients themselves evaluated photos taken at baseline and eight weeks after the treatment. The self-evaluation of the photo documentation was done by all 14 patients who assessed the improvement in all treated areas (abdomen 13x, buttocks 11x). Seven of the 24 (29.2%) body areas were described as improved, 14 of the 24 areas (58.3%) as significantly improved, and three of the 24 (12.5%) area as greatly improved. As a final assessment of the treatment, all patients stated that they would recommend the treatment to friends.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30500146/ 

• In total, patients initially dissatisfied with the appearance of their buttocks reported a significant 85% improvement after the fourth treatment. Immediately after the fourth treatment, all the subjects reported that their buttocks felt more lifted and toned. Results were maintained at one-month follow-up. Weight of the patients didn’t change significantly. Digital photographs showed aesthetic improvements of the buttocks for most of the patients. No adverse events were reported.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33349789/

• The measurements performed on the MRI images showed an improvement in all three monitored parameters: the width of abdominal separation, subcutaneous fat thickness, and thickness of the rectus abdominis muscle. A notable improvement in digital photographs accompanied these observations.
• In general, shortening of the abdominal separation was seen in all of the examined patients, and eight of the 10 patients showed more than 15.0-percent improvement at the one-month follow-up. During the three-month follow-up, the measured improvement was higher than 20.0 percent in nine of the 10 patients.
• The improvement in abdominal separation was maintained through the six-month follow-up visit. The differences were statistically significant (p<0.05).
• Correlation analysis showed a strong positive relationship (r=0.87; p<0.001) between the level of baseline abdominal separation and the level of observed improvement at three months. This indicates that the patients with a more severe condition were more likely to see improvements. The level of improvement, however, was independent of the baseline weight and BMI.
• Statistical analysis showed that the thickness of the rectus abdominis muscle increased significantly (p<0.05) by 20.5 percent (+2.0±0.6mm), on average, at the one-month follow-up. At the three-month follow-up, muscle thickness increased by 21.3 percent (2.1±0.7mm), on average, compared to the baseline. 
• The analysis of the six-month MRI images demonstrated a sustained increase in the muscle thickness, compared to measurements at three three-month follow-up.
• At the six-month follow-up, the nine patients maintained muscle improvement by 21.7 percent, as the epi- and sub-umbilical muscle thickness was 11.1±2.6mm and 11.8±2.3mm, respectively. Similarly, the correlation analysis for abdominal separation showed a statistically significant (r=0.57; p<0.01) relationship between baseline muscle thickness and measured improvement at three months, indicating that subjects who had lower baseline muscle thickness were more likely to see greater improvement compared to those with higher baseline muscle thickness. The improvement was independent of patient weight, BMI, or baseline fat thickness.
• The MRI images of all patients demonstrated a significant reduction (p<0.05) in the thickness of subcutaneous fat tissue. The total average reduction across the abdomen at one-month follow-up was 17.0 percent (-2.1±1.1mm). The fat layer was further reduced to 20.1 percent (-2.5±1.3mm), which was significant (p<0.05), at the three-month      follow-up while fat reduction greater than 17.0 percent was observed in eight of the 10 patients who attended the three-month follow-up visit. The changes were independent of baseline weight and BMI. Patients maintained a 17.6-percent fat reduction at the six-month follow-up visit (-2.0±1.3mm), compared to baseline measurements. 
• The weight of the subjects remained constant.
• Mild muscle fatigue, comparable with post-exercise soreness, was the only reported AE. The fatigue resolved itself within 48 hours post-treatment. The patients did not report any changes in their diet or physical activity levels.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32103232/

• When comparing the 1-year follow-up measurements with the baseline, the MRI/CT-assisted calculations revealed mean reductions of 14.63% (2.97 [2.11] mm) in fat, 19.05% (1.89 [0.88] mm) in muscle thickening, and 10.46% (1.96 [1.71] mm) in diastasis recti. All changes were significant (P < 0.05) and not related to weight fluctuations (P > 0.05). The baseline width of diastasis positively correlated with the degree of improvement at follow-up. No adverse events were reported.