There will need to be special accommodations made for your particular procedure. Let your healthcare provider know if you have a pacemaker or cardiac defibrillator. Since electrodes will also be attached to the surface of your skin for emitting electrical current, keep your skin clean and avoid using lotions, body creams, perfume, or cologne for a couple of days before your test.

How Do I Prepare for the Tests?Ĭonsidering doctors will need easy access to all your muscles in the test area, you should wear loose, comfortable clothing, especially if you need to switch to a hospital gown. Identifying abnormalities with an EMG enables your doctor to diagnose and treat your current ongoing condition accurately. Your body produces a baseline electrical current throughout, which becomes abnormal during muscle contraction.Ībnormal EMG results are usually signs of nerve dysfunction, muscle injury, and muscle disorders, including: If your EMG reading is abnormal, your electrical activity will consist of odd wave shapes and patterns. You will be asked to contract or relax your muscles throughout the procedure. Some of the conditions an EMG and nerve conduction studies can show include:Īn EMG detects damage to your nervous system by inserting a thin electrode needle into your muscle while monitoring electrical activity and proceeding with results on an oscilloscope (monitor). In contrast, nerve conduction studies simply tape or paste stimulating electrodes to your muscles and send a mild electrical pulse throughout your body. An EMG test will require inserting a needle electrode into your muscle. How Painful is an EMG Nerve Conduction Study?īesides some minor pain, cramping, and even a tingling sensation, EMG and nerve conduction studies are minimally invasive. Those who need an EMG and nerve conduction tests are experiencing symptoms that may include muscle weakness, tingling or numbness, cramps, spasms, twitching, and even muscle paralysis. Both tests provide a broad picture of your body’s electrical traffic and whether any disruptors indicate a condition or disorder causing your pain. While an EMG test focuses on the electrical activity in your muscles, a nerve conduction study measures the speed and strength of electrical signals in your nerves. How painful is an EMG nerve conduction study?.As you might anticipate, doctors can identify disruptions in these signals that may cause nerve or muscular pain and discomfort. As electrical currents can be measured in areas like our homes, we can also measure electrical activity in our muscles and nerves.Įlectromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies measure the electrical signals sent through our nerves and muscles. Our nervous system uses electrical signals to communicate with muscles throughout our body.

Unusual pain following emg test