The electromyogram of the EMG tests is a study that measures the amount of electrical activity of the muscles at rests and when in contraction. The nerve conduction studies measure how good and how the nerve fasts can send the electrical signal. The nerves control the muscle in the body and through the electrical signal or impulses and these impulses makes the muscles react in some ways. Nerve and muscle disorders cause muscles to have an abnormal reaction.
Measuring its electrical activity in the nerves and muscles can assist you find disease that will damage the muscle tissue like the muscular dystrophy or nerves like amyotrophic or the peripheral neuropathies. The EMG and the nerve conduction studies are frequently done to provide more comprehensive information.
What is the Reason Why EMG is done?
The electromyogram or EMG is done to:
Identify a disease that damages the muscle tissue, the nerves, and the junctions between the nerves and muscles such as the neuromuscular junctions. The disorder can include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, myasthenia gravis or the herniated.
It is also done to find the damage in the peripheral nervous system that includes the entire nerves which leads away the brain and the spinal cord and some of the smaller nerve disorder like the carpal tunnel syndrome or the Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Both the EMG and the nerve conduction studies can assist diagnose the condition called as the post-polio syndrome which may develop months even years after a person had polio.
The Preparation
Always tell your physicians if you are:
-Under medication. Specific medicines that act in the nervous system like muscle relaxants and some anticholinergics can easily change electromyogram or EMG results. You might have to stop taking such medication for three to six days before the tests.
- If you have bleeding problems or if you take blood thinners like warfarin or heparin. If you have taken some blood thinners, your physician will tell you when you have to stop taking before a tests.
-if you have peacemaker
-you should not smoke for three hours before the test.
-you should not eat or then drink foods which may contain caffeine like coffee, cola, tea, and chocolate for two to three hours before the EMG tests.
-you have to wear loose fitting clothing so that your muscles and your nerves can be tested. And also you may have given a hospital gown for you to wear.
What Some Tests Made During the EMG?
A nerve conduction velocity test is often done at the same time as an EMG. In this test, the nerve is electrically stimulated while a second electrode detects the electrical impulse ‘down-stream’ from the first. This is usually done with surface patch electrodes that are placed on the skin over the nerve at various locations. One electrode stimulates the nerve with a very mild electrical impulse. The resulting electrical activity is recorded by the other electrodes. The distance between electrodes and the time it takes for electrical impulses to travel between electrodes are used to calculate the speed of impulse transmission. A decreased speed of transmission indicates nerve disease.
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