What's the Difference Between EmSculpt and a TENS Unit?

If you’ve been researching body contouring treatment options, you’ve likely heard about two methods for shaping your body: EmSculpt and TENS. And you may be wondering, since both non-invasive treatment methods get your muscles to contract, delivering body sculpting results with little to no down-time, how is EmSculpt different from TENS treatments? Today, we’ll offer an in-depth look at both treatment methods, so you can make an informed decision when choosing the solution for your body sculpting needs.

Can a TENS Unit Help with Muscle Toning?

TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) units are small, battery-operated machines that connect to electrodes that can be placed on targeted areas of your body.  Through those electrodes, TENS delivers small electrical currents to your body.

Typically, we see TENS therapy used to help with muscle pain; its electric currents help your muscles relax and may interfere with pain signals, potentially reducing chronic back and neck pain, in addition to alleviating other painful conditions. TENS treatments may also stimulate your body to produce endorphins (hormones that trigger positive feelings). For these reasons, TENS treatments are recognized for potential pain relief.

We’ve also seen that TENS therapy can stimulate muscle contraction that could deliver subtle results when it comes to muscle toning for women.

To stimulate muscle-building for men, however, TENS is not the optimal choice. That’s because the TENS currents are too mild to stimulate contractions that are strong enough to build new muscle.

How Does EmSculpt Help with Body Contouring?

In contrast to the mild currents of a TENS unit, EmSculpt works with high-intensity focused electromagnetic energy(HIFEM®). Now, because EmSculpt delivers more energy, this treatment method stimulates stronger muscle contractions. In fact, the strong contractions that EmSculpt delivers are more powerful than anything you could trigger while working out on your own.

Once those muscle contractions get going, your body’s muscle and fat tissue must adapt. As such, EmSculpt treatments deliver body sculpting results on multiple fronts: muscle toning, muscle building, and even fat reduction. Because of these results, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognizes EmSculpt as an effective treatment for improving your abdominal tone, strengthening your abdominal muscles, and helping you develop a firmer stomach. EmSculpt is also effective for strengthening, toning, and firming your buttocks, thighs, and calves. This treatment method can even strengthen, tone, and firm the muscles in your arms. (Those “bat wings” every women hates)

To date, EmSculpt is only FDA-approved for sculpting and toning the areas listed above. TENS vs. EmSculpt: What are the Main Differences?

Now that you understand how each treatment works, let’s highlight their key differences, so you can recognize the kinds of results you should expect from each treatment method.

• Strength of Signal: TENS units deliver mild electrical signals, while EmSculpt offers high-intensity electromagnetic energy signals.
• Body Response: A TENS unit will trigger mild muscle contractions. EmSculpt causes strong muscle contractions.
• Expected Results: Because TENS therapy can help tone your muscles, you will notice subtle differences in your body contouring following treatment. But, because EmSculpt’s strong contractions can also build new muscle and stimulate fat reduction, you should expect to see very noticeable results when selecting this treatment method.

Should I Choose TENS or EmSculpt for Body Contouring?

Now that you understand the difference between TENS and EmSculpt, you should understand why most people prefer EmSculpt for body sculpting. Thanks to newer, more powerful technology, EmSculpt produces far more dramatic results when it comes to muscle toning for women.

Additionally, only EmSculpt can offer muscle building for men, as well as same area fat reduction results. As such, EmSculpt is truly your only option for FDA-approved, gym-free, non-surgical body shaping. Plus, treatments typically last just 30 minutes, and since EmSculpt is non-invasive, you can return to your day immediately after a session, with no downtime.

Ready to learn more about your body contouring options? We’re here to help. In our Las Vegas-area body shaping practice, we are happy to offer free consultations to prospective patients. Simply schedule a time to come into the practice, and we’ll discuss your muscle toning and fat reduction goals to come up with your best individualized treatment plan.

Tags: athletes, beach body, Body contouring, body sculpting, Emsculpt, fat loss, fat reduction, Muscle contraction, muscle tissue, muscle toning, powerful contraction, safe, TENS Unit