HIFEM Pelvic Floor Therapy in Sharjah

What is HIFEM pelvic floor therapy?

HIFEM pelvic floor therapy is muscle training delivered by a chair. HIFEM stands for high-intensity focused electromagnetic energy. A coil in the seat creates a focused electromagnetic field that passes through clothing and reaches the nerves supplying the pelvic floor, the sling of muscles that holds up the bladder, womb and bowel. Those nerves respond by firing, and the muscles contract.

The detail that sets HIFEM apart is the strength and number of contractions. Each one is stronger than a pelvic floor squeeze you can make by choice, and a single session produces a very large number of them, far more than anyone could perform with exercises in the same time. It is the equivalent of an intensive workout for muscles that are otherwise hard to train. HIFEM uses no heat, nothing is inserted, and the tissue of the vagina is left untouched. It works entirely on muscle.

Dar Al Kamal Hospital, Sharjah offers HIFEM pelvic floor therapy in-house, as part of the gynaecology and obstetrics department's pelvic floor care.

Who needs it

HIFEM pelvic floor therapy suits women whose pelvic floor muscles have weakened, most often after pregnancy and vaginal birth, and around menopause. The common reason is stress urinary leakage: a small leak on coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting or exercise. Leakage and its full range of treatments are covered on the urinary incontinence page.

HIFEM particularly suits women who find it hard to locate or squeeze the right muscles during exercises, or who want an extra boost alongside a home programme. It sits within wider pelvic floor therapy, which remains the foundation of care, and many women use the chair and the exercises together. Because the chair needs no undressing and no internal examination during sessions, it also suits women who value privacy.

A sudden, strong urge to pass urine with frequent trips to the toilet is a different problem, an overactive bladder, and the gynaecologist checks which pattern fits you before recommending the chair.

What happens

A consultation comes first, with questions about your bladder habits, births and general health, and an examination of the pelvic floor where appropriate.

For each session you sit on the chair in your everyday clothes. The team adjusts your position so that the pelvic floor sits over the centre of the seat, with your feet flat and your back upright. The intensity starts low and is raised step by step to a level that is strong and still comfortable for you, and the team rechecks it as the session goes on.

You feel tingling and then deep, rhythmic tightening and lifting of the pelvic floor, and often of the buttocks too, in pulses followed by rest. It is an unfamiliar sensation that remains comfortable. You can read or talk during the session, and when it ends you stand up and carry on with your day. A course is made up of several short sessions spread over a few weeks.

Preparing for it

Before each session, remove your phone, bank cards, keys, jewellery and any metal from your pockets, since the magnetic field affects metal and electronics. Tell the doctor at consultation about a pacemaker or other electronic implant, metal implants in the pelvis or hips, a copper contraceptive coil, recent pelvic surgery or a possible pregnancy, as each changes the plan.

Empty your bladder just before sitting down. Wear comfortable everyday clothing. Keeping a short bladder diary for a few days beforehand, noting drinks, toilet visits and leaks, gives a baseline to compare with later. Because nothing is inserted and you stay clothed, sessions are easy to fit around a working day or Ramadan fasting hours.

Afterwards

Mild muscle ache in the pelvis, lower abdomen or buttocks, like the feeling after a hard workout, is normal and settles on its own. You can return to work, driving and ordinary activity straight away. Keep up your home pelvic floor exercises between sessions, as the chair and the exercises work together, and drink water through the day, especially in the Sharjah heat.

At the end of the course, a review compares your bladder diary with the baseline, and the doctor discusses maintenance sessions or other steps.

Contact the hospital if you develop pelvic pain that keeps worsening, blood in your urine, a burning feeling passing urine or a fever.

Cost and insurance

HIFEM pelvic floor therapy is usually self-pay, as many UAE insurance plans treat device-based sessions as elective. Where a doctor documents urinary incontinence, some plans may consider cover for part of the care with pre-approval, so check with your insurer before starting a course. Dar Al Kamal Hospital, Sharjah explains the cost of the full course at consultation. Book on 06 599 7777.