The Irish Mail on Sunday

Bingo wing blaster that’s as effective as 10,000 bicep curls

- By Jonathan Neal

TUMMIES can be cinched in or, if all else fails, surgically tucked. Breasts can be augmented, either with padding or something more permanent. And there are injections that can smooth wrinkles and plump ageing skin. But one body area has proved to be a tougher nut to crack: the dreaded bingo wing. Many women find that no matter how many bicep curls they do, the area under the upper arm becomes saggy. Indeed, a recent survey by a fitness company suggested up to 71% of women hate the appearance of their arms.

Long sleeves or artfully draped shawls can disguise a multitude of sins. But the only surgical option is a complex operation that involves cutting away excess flesh, which comes with inherent risks and scarring.

For the vast majority of women, there are bigger things to worry about but for those seeking an interventi­on, help may finally be at hand. A new non-invasive treatment called EMSculpt, which zaps the upper arms with high-intensity electromag­netic energy, is proving to be remarkably successful.

Rapid pulses of these waves – emitted by curved ‘paddles’ the size and shape of a large iron and which are strapped to the body – activate the nerves that control the muscles, making them contract spontaneou­sly. One 30minute EMSculpt session is the equivalent of doing 10,000 bicep curls and 10,000 tricep dips, claims Czech manufactur­ers BTL. The result is an 18% increase in muscle mass in both the upper and lower arm, leading to significan­tly less wobble.

Grandmothe­r-of-six Tiffany Suchard became one of the first in Britain to try the new treatment earlier this year. The businesswo­man and selfconfes­sed gym fanatic injured her shoulders 18 months ago.

‘I think, at my age, I was overdoing the exercise a bit, and I started to feel quite a lot of discomfort in my shoulders when reaching up for things or even pulling open a door,’ admits Tiffany, who prefers not to reveal her age but admits she modelled with Twiggy in the 1960s.

When she finally visited her doctors, she was told that she had torn the rotator cuff in her right arm and damaged the one in her left. The rotator cuff is a sheet of muscle deep within the shoulder, which essentiall­y holds the joint together, and supports its wide range of motion.

Tiffany underwent surgery on her right shoulder. ‘It recovered well but I had to stop doing a lot of the arm exercises that I used to do,’ she says. ‘The upshot of it all was my arms started to look less toned. I began to feel a bit self-conscious, especially in some of my favourite sleeveless dresses and tops.’

EMSculpt is available in private cosmetic procedure clinics here now. Initially treatment was limited to the midriff and buttocks. Now specially designed attachment­s mean it can be safely used on the arms and thighs, too.

The treatment has a 90% approval rating from user reviews on realself.com, the site often dubbed ‘the Tripadviso­r of cosmetic surgery’. Researcher­s report no complicati­ons or side effects after EMSculpt.

During the arm procedure, the patient lies on their front, with the front of their upper arms supported in the curved paddles, to target the bicep muscles. The paddles are attached with wires to a machine, which controls the intensity of the electromag­netic pulses.

The pulses can cause more than ten muscle contractio­ns a second.

As the treatment taps directly into the nerves, it is able to target the entire muscle.

Tiffany had already had

TONED: Tiffany, left, and images before and after her treatment EMSculpt treatment on her midriff and had been delighted with the results, which she revealed in these pages. So she jumped at the chance to test the new arm applicatio­n. She had six sessions, each a week apart. ‘It’s a strange feeling – different to when it’s on the tummy,’ she says.

‘The pulses make your arm jerk, and you have to resist it or they move, so you feel a bit like a puppet – but it’s not uncomforta­ble.

“Afterwards, you’re a bit achy, as if you’ve been lifting weights. But that goes after a day. I noticed my arms looked a bit more toned after just one session, and after six, I’m so pleased – they seem so much better. I’m looking forward to wearing my sleeveless gowns, and even bought a new one to celebrate.’

 ??  ?? TIFFANY BEFORE
TIFFANY BEFORE
 ??  ?? TIFFANY AFTER
TIFFANY AFTER

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