EMG/NCS stands for Electromyogram and nerve conduction studies. And this is an electrical test of your nerves and muscles.
The purpose of the test is to localize where your symptoms are coming from. That can be pain, any kind of numbness or tingling and/or weakness. And the test is also good at assessing the severity of your symptoms.
The basic preparation for the test really is minimal. We just ask people to wear comfortable loose fitting clothing and to not wear any kind of skin creams or moisturizers because they can interfere with the electrodes.
When you come in for the test, normally the first part you'll go through is the nerve conduction study part and for that you'll have a few electrodes attached either to your hands normally or your feet depending on which part of the body is being looked at. And you'll feel small signals, electric signals. And they'll vary in intensity. And people often ask is it painful, and what I will always say is that I am controlling how strong that signal is so if anything is uncomfortable for the patient, they can at anytime tell me how it feels, and we adjust the intensity of the signal.
The second part of the test is the electromyogram. And with this part you'll feel it, instead of the electric signals, you'll feel a small needle poke. And the needle poke is similar to an acupuncture needle in sensation. The needle will be in one muscle at a time. At first we listen to the muscle at rest, and then we listen to the muscle when it's active And you'll hear the actual sound, which is normal, because the active muscle is transmitted to a sound wave. And from that we can tell from the pattern the muscle makes we can tell what type of injury is occurring.
The result of the EMG and the nerve conduction study then also guide us more specifically to what type of treatment you should have, typically at your next visit.
Why is an EMG/NCS test performed?
Typically an EMG nerve conduction studies are ordered when a patient is having some type of nerve symptom, that can be in one, two or three ways. Either they can have pain, they can some type of numbness and tingling, it can be a burning sensation, and or it can be any type of weakness, where you're actually feeling a change in your muscles strength. And for those three reasons, pain, any kind of change in sensation numbness, tingling, and for any change in muscle strength is usually when we order the EMG.
