Pelvic floor physiotherapy vs EmSella: assessment, coaching or loading?
People often ask whether they need pelvic floor physiotherapy or the EmSella chair. They are not the same appointment, and one is not a cheaper version of the other. At Littlehampton Natural Health Centre both are provided by Amelia Altenburger, an HCPC-registered physiotherapist. Many people do both. The useful question is which to start with.
Physiotherapy answers “what is going on, and can you use the muscle well?”. EmSella is one way to load a weak pelvic floor once that question is answered. Neither is automatically right for pelvic pain, a tight floor, or every bladder problem. Amelia consults first.
Service detail lives on the two existing pages: pelvic floor physiotherapy in Littlehampton and EmSella pelvic floor treatment in Littlehampton. This article is the comparison.
What pelvic floor physiotherapy is for
A physiotherapy appointment is clinical time: history, examination and a plan you can follow at home. Amelia looks at breathing, the abdominal wall, scars, posture and how you try to “do a Kegel”. An internal vaginal examination may be offered because it is the most accurate way to judge lift, tone and tenderness. It is optional. You can decline and still receive education and external work. You may bring a chaperone.
Treatment may include teaching a correct contraction and a correct relaxation — tight is not the same as strong — plus strength or endurance work, or down-training for an overactive floor. Manual therapy to the abdomen, pelvis or pelvic-floor muscles is used where appropriate, with advice on bladder and bowel habits, lifting, running return and sex.
Start here if you cannot find the muscle, have pain, prolapse symptoms (heaviness or bulge), scarring, postnatal tummy-gap concerns, or you have never had a proper assessment.
A free short physiotherapy assessment is available. A new-patient appointment is £60. Follow-up 30-minute sessions are £50; a plan of six is listed at £270. Reception can confirm the most suitable booking.
Some physiotherapy appointments can be claimed on private medical insurance, depending on your policy. Cover varies by insurer and by treatment. See our private medical insurance page and speak to reception if you plan to claim. EmSella chair sessions are not billed as physiotherapy, and we do not invite you to claim them as physio.
What EmSella is for
EmSella is a clothed 30-minute chair session. High-intensity focused electromagnetic energy makes the pelvic-floor muscles contract while you sit. It does not diagnose. It does not teach technique. It does not replace an examination when one is needed.
It can help when weakness is the problem, you can tolerate electromagnetic treatment, and you want additional loading — including when Kegel exercises have been hard to do well. The manufacturer’s “11,000 Kegels” comparison, and published figures such as 95%, 75% and 66% in research summaries, are manufacturer and study figures, not this clinic’s cure rates.
EmSella is not automatically right if the floor is tight, painful or poorly coordinated. Loading a muscle that cannot relax can aggravate symptoms. That is why the booking path is a free preliminary telephone consultation, then a £45 consultation, before any course of chair sessions. Individual sessions are £80; maintenance £66; a 6-plan £396; a 12-plan £792; a review with Amelia £25.
When people do both
A common pattern is physiotherapy first: restore awareness, reduce aggravating habits, and confirm that the muscle needs strengthening rather than calming. EmSella is then added to load the muscle in a clothed session, while you continue the home programme Amelia has set. Some people later use occasional maintenance chair sessions and self-manage with exercise.
The reverse order is less useful if nobody has checked why you leak. We will not sell a chair package before a conversation.
Men are seen in both pathways, including after prostate treatment.
How to choose a first booking
Unsure whether this clinic can help, and you mainly have a physiotherapy question: book a free short assessment. Ready for a full physiotherapy assessment: book a new-patient appointment, £60. Specifically asking about the chair: start with a free EmSella preliminary call, then the £45 EmSella consultation if Amelia agrees it is in the right territory.
If you have tummy-gap, scar or return-to-exercise questions after birth, physiotherapy — including a Mummy MOT-style check — is usually the better first appointment. The chair can wait.
Book a new-patient appointment
Clinic details
Amelia’s profile sets out her training. Littlehampton Natural Health Centre, 10C Granville Road, Littlehampton BN17 5JU. Phone 01903 734373. Email reception@lnhc.co.uk. Monday to Thursday 09:00–12:30 and 14:00–18:00; Friday 09:00–13:00 and 14:00–17:00; Saturday and Sunday closed. Free on-street parking.