April 2026 · Ashley Shaw, FNP-BC
Leaking When You Laugh, Sneeze, or Run? How Emsella Strengthens Your Pelvic Floor – Without Surgery
Here's something I want every woman (and man) to hear: bladder leaks are common, but they are not something you simply have to live with. If you've started crossing your legs before you sneeze, mapping out bathrooms before a long drive, or skipping the trampoline with your kids, your pelvic floor is telling you something – and there's more we can do about it today than ever before.
Why the pelvic floor weakens
Your pelvic floor is a hammock of muscles supporting your bladder, uterus, and bowel. Pregnancy and childbirth stretch and strain it. The drop in estrogen during perimenopause and menopause weakens the muscle and surrounding tissue further. Add time, gravity, high-impact exercise, chronic coughing, or heavy lifting, and the result is familiar: stress incontinence (leaks with laughing, sneezing, jumping), urge incontinence (the sudden "I need to go now"), or a mix of both. Men can experience pelvic floor weakness too, particularly after prostate treatment.
The problem with "just do your Kegels"
Kegel exercises genuinely work – when they're done correctly, consistently, and for months. In practice, many people contract the wrong muscles, can't feel whether they're doing it right, or simply can't keep up the routine. That's not a personal failing; voluntarily isolating deep pelvic muscles is hard.
How Emsella works
Emsella is an FDA-cleared, non-invasive treatment for urinary incontinence that solves the Kegel problem with technology. You sit – fully clothed – on a specialized chair that uses high-intensity focused electromagnetic energy (HIFEM) to stimulate the pelvic floor muscles directly. Each 28-minute session triggers roughly 11,000 deep muscle contractions, engaging the pelvic floor far more intensely and completely than voluntary exercise can.
There are no probes, no needles, no medication, and no downtime – most people read or relax during the session and drive themselves home after. The sensation is unusual at first (tingling and strong internal contractions) but generally well tolerated. A typical course is six sessions over about three weeks, and clinical studies report that a large majority of patients experience meaningful improvement in leakage and quality of life, with many reducing or eliminating pad use.
Who it's a good fit for
Emsella is worth discussing if you have stress, urge, or mixed incontinence, pelvic floor weakness after childbirth, or symptoms that have crept in with perimenopause and menopause. It's not right for everyone – it's not used in pregnancy or for people with certain implanted metal or electronic devices, which is why every patient starts with a consultation to confirm it's safe and appropriate.
Pelvic floor care at Solveris
At Solveris, Emsella is part of a bigger picture. Incontinence often has multiple contributors – hormonal changes, tissue health, weight, bladder habits – so we pair Emsella treatment with a root-cause evaluation to get you the most durable result, not just a temporary fix. Learn more on our Emsella treatment page.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Individual results vary. Please consult your healthcare provider to determine whether Emsella is appropriate for you.