EMG & Nerve Conduction Studies

EMG and Nerve Conduction Studies are electrical tests of your nerves and muscles used to help diagnose the causes of numbness, tingling, pain or weakness. EMG and Nerve Conduction Studies are ordered by your physician, and help identify a pinched nerve in your back or neck, a nerve entrapment such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, or nerve disease such as diabetic neuropathy. EMG and Nerve Conduction Studies are usually both performed at the same testing session and on average take from 1 to 1 1/2 hours to complete.

Nerves carry tiny electrical signals from the brain to the muscles to tell them to contract so you can move. Nerves also carry electrical implulses of sensation (touch, heat, cold, pain, etc.) from your body to the brain. In Nerve Conduction Studies, a brief electrical shock is given to a nerve in your arm or your leg, and electrodes placed on your skin record this electrical impulse to see how well the nerve conducts its' signals to and from the limb. To test different sections of the same nerve, the electrical shock will be given at 2 or 3 different places on the same nerve. And, since there are several nerves in each limb, usually 3 or more nerves are tested in each limb.

EMG or Electromyography measures the electrical activity inside the muscles. By placing a very thin wire through the skin into the muscle, this electrical activity can be seen and recorded. Usually, 6 or 7 muscles will be tested in one limb.

Bob Arnold, one of the physical therapists at Stewart Memorial Community Hospital, has been doing EMG and Nerve Conduction Testing since 1997. For more information, contact the Physical Therapy Department at 712-464-3171, ext. 236.

   
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