Small studies say muscle sculpting builds a little muscle on the one area treated, with no exercise from you. Electromagnetic pulses make that muscle work hard while you lie there.
It is not a replacement for exercise, and we would not pretend otherwise.
What does one session do to a muscle?
The device sends electromagnetic pulses into the muscle and makes it contract, far harder and faster than you could on purpose. You lie there for about 30 minutes, and there is nothing for you to do.
It feels strange more than painful. Each contraction is much stronger than anything you can do yourself, and it takes a few minutes to get used to.
There is no downtime, though your muscles may feel like you worked them, because you did. Some people get sore, the way you would after a hard session, and most do not.
What did the studies find?
Several small studies measured the stomach muscle with MRI, CT or ultrasound scans after a short course of sessions. In one, published in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine in 2019, 22 people had four sessions on the stomach. MRI scans two and six months later showed thicker stomach muscle and less fat over it.
A review published in 2022 in Dermatologic Surgery covered 20 studies. It called the treatment effective for the stomach, with thicker muscle for up to a year. Its authors also rated none of the 20 studies as high quality.
A second review, published in 2023 in the Annals of Plastic Surgery, covered 14 studies and said the evidence that it works is weak. It found the changes were small, often a few millimeters. Its author thinks part of the early gain is swelling, like the pumped look a muscle gets after a hard workout.
Most of those studies were small and tested devices from one maker, and the review says that maker paid for most of them.
So nobody here will promise you a set amount of new muscle, and you should hear that before you book.
What will muscle sculpting not do?
- It does nothing for your heart, your stamina or your general health, and you need those too.
- It is not weight loss. In the 2019 study, people’s weight barely changed while their scans and tape measurements did.
- A thick layer of fat can hide the muscle underneath. That second review asks how much a slightly thicker muscle helps when fat covers it.
Why do we pair it with the cold treatments?
Cold treatments take fat cells out of an area, and the electromagnetic work goes into the muscle underneath. With the fat gone and nothing underneath, an area just looks flatter, because muscle is what gives it a line.
Almost every plan we build includes both. Our page on CryoSculpting for stubborn fat covers the cold half, the treatment most people come in for.
Who gets the most from it?
It suits you best if these describe you.
- Your weight is at, or close to, where you want it.
- Only a thin layer of fat covers the area, or you are having cold treatments on it too. Ideal candidates have less than an inch of fat they can pinch, the authors of the 2019 study suggest. In their view, more fat puts more distance between the device and the muscle.
- You want extra work on one area, on top of the exercise you already do.
We confirm that each service is right for you before we begin. If this one is not, you will hear that at your intro visit.
Finding our studio in Creve Coeur
Our studio is on Old Olive Street Road in Creve Coeur, just off Olive at I-270, with parking right outside. Most of our clients come from around west county, and the drive is short from Chesterfield, Ladue, Town and Country and Des Peres.
A session takes about 30 minutes with no downtime, so people come in on a lunch break and go back to work. We are open Monday to Thursday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
What to do next
Start with what you want from the area. If it is more shape in one spot and your weight is close to where you want it, this is worth asking about.
Our page on muscle sculpting in St. Louis covers what a session involves, whether it hurts, and how it fits with the cold treatments. At your intro visit we look at the area and tell you how many sessions to plan for.
Call (314) 301-9012, or book an intro visit. It takes about half an hour, and you leave with a plan of your own.