“It would be nice if a cheap and cheerful technology, such as TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation), could reduce fat or cellulite but it doesn’t. TENS is already far weaker than EMS (which itself doesn’t work for fat reduction) and it lacks the power or mechanism to affect fat, cellulite, weight or skin firmness. No evidence supports its use for any of these purposes and, of course, it cannot burn calories or target local fat like stomach or thigh fat. On this article I analyse why TENS is useless for the above goals.”
TENS and cellulite
Does TENS do anything for cellulite, skin looseness or excess fat?
Electrical treatments for cellulite reduction and skin tightening
TENS for skin tightening and cellulite/fat reduction
Why TENS doesn’t work for cellulite / fat / skin looseness
Tens for stomach fat, local fat loss or weight loss even? That’s not how the body works.
Where to place tens unit for belly fat?
TENS is great for pain relief - and nothing else
Can a tens machine help tone your stomach?
Does EMS burn fat?
Weight loss with electrical stimulation
EMS points for weight loss
LipoTherapeia® Plus: Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment with London’s cellulite experts
The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening
Does TENS do anything for cellulite, skin looseness or excess fat?
TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) is a very affordable technology that is used in physiotherapy for pain relief
TENS blocks pain signals by emitting tiny electrical currents that overload local nerve nodes and thus provides pain relief
Unfortunately those TINY currents have ZERO effect on cellulite, skin tightening, local fat, stomach fat or body weight
Full analysis follows below.
Electrical treatments for cellulite reduction and skin tightening
Different kinds of electrical treatments have been suggested the last few decades for skin firming and fat/cellulite reduction, with varying effectiveness.
Examples include radiofrequency, high frequency wand treatments, microcurrents, galvanic, HIFEM (electromagnetic muscle stimulation), EMS (electrical muscle stimulation) etc.
TENS for skin tightening and cellulite/fat reduction
TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), used in physiotherapy for pain relief, is not one of them, but that does not stop people from asking if TENS can be used to reduce cellulite and tighten skin.
TENS machines are very, very cheap, so it is tempting to think that: “If so many electrical treatments are used for cellulite, why not try a cheap solution such as a TENS machine”? After all it’s not going to break the bank…”
Why TENS doesn’t work for cellulite / fat / skin looseness
There are three answers to such a question:
Although several electrical treatments have been proposed and used for cellulite and skin tightening, none of them works, bar one: radiofrequency. And even with radiofrequency, only a small subset of that technology works, namely deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency. Everything else is inefficient, i.e. it offers too slow-acting / too weak results.
There is nothing in TENS technology that can reduce fat/cellulite or boost skin tightening. TENS is a type of EXTREMELY LOW POWER electrical nerve stimulation machine. It is much, much weaker than EMS, which doesn’t work anyway. So hoping that a cheap, weak relative of those much more powerful technologies will work is futile.
Continuing from my second point, there is zero evidence that a TENS machine works for cellulite, fat reduction and skin tightening. And I don’t expect any such evidence to ever materialise, because the fundamentals are wrong: TENS is a very, very weak current that has no impact on skin or fat.
Tens for stomach fat, local fat loss or weight loss even? That’s not how the body works.
For weight loss to occur you need to oxidise (burn) calories in muscles and other organs.
It is impossible to burn calories with a TENS machine or ANY machine for that matter. You can only burn calories with diet and exercise, GLP-1 inhibitors or very strong stimulant medication (the latter not recommended).
TENS does not even release local fat, such as thigh fat or stomach fat. In fact no machine is really efficient in reducing deep (subcutaneous) local fat (but that’s material for another article).
TENS is great for pain relief - and nothing else
So although TENS is very cheap and it won’t break the bank to try it for cellulite/fat reduction or for skin tightening, it is still a waste of time and money.
So use it where is works, is a good investment and is very useful: for pain relief.
Where to place tens unit for belly fat?
Nowhere. As explained above, TENS does not work for fat loss.
Can a tens machine help tone your stomach?
Nope. TENS is infinitesimally weak to stimulate any skin tightening.
Does EMS burn fat?
Again, electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) stimulates muscles, does not burn fat, at TENSE intensities and even at high intensities the effect is minute.
Weight loss with electrical stimulation
As mentioned above, such a thing does not exist, as it breaks all laws of biology
EMS points for weight loss
There are no points to be given: EMS does not result in weight loss, not even a gram.
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At LipoTherapeia we have specialised 100% in skin tightening and cellulite reduction for more than two decades and 20,000+ sessions.
This is all we study and practise every day and have researched and tried hands-on all the important skin tightening equipment and their manufacturers.
As strong, deep acting radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the technologies of choice for skin tightening and cellulite reduction, we have invested in the best RF/ultrasound technologies in the world.
(Of course, we keep looking for new technologies every day and if/when a better technology materialises we will be the first to provide it. However, we will never follow the latest ineffective gimmick, just because it’s good marketing to offer the latest hyped up - yet ineffective and/or unsafe treatment.)
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Cellulite surgery, such as cellulaze, cellutite, cellfina, subcision etc
Face-lift surgery
Non-surgical procedures, such as RF microneedling, extreme intensity HIFU, extreme intensity RF, extreme intensity ultrasound etc
Everything will be shown and explained to you clearly and you can see and understand how the different structures inside your skin affect your appearance.
If there is scar tissue / fibrosis, those will be clearly seen and you can differentiate between fibrosis, water retention or unremoved fat after all types of cosmetic surgery or harsh non-surgical procedures such as RF microneedling, extreme intensity HIFU etc.
(DISCLAIMER: Please note that this service is for your informational purposes only and does not constitute medical diagnosis or advice.)
The 45’ appointment includes full assessment and consultation and optional treatment plan for cellulite reduction and/or skin tightening.
If you do wish to have treatment with us, the ultrasound scan, assessment and consultation will be used to optimise your course of treatments and maximise your results.
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