An EMG may be ordered to see if you have a pinched nerve in the back or the neck. If you have tingling or numbness in your arms or legs, an EMG may show if you have a nerve entrapment somewhere or a nerve injury. Weakness of the muscles or “fatigue” (tiredness) may be indicative of nerve or muscle disease and require an EMG.

Nerve Conduction Studies (NCV). Delivery of some brief electrical shocks, through the skin, to your arm or leg in an effort to determine how fast or slowly your nerves are conducting the electrical current and therefore in what state of health or disease they may be.

Needle Examination (EMG). As the name implies, involves some needle sticking, through the skin, into the muscles. The needles used are thin, fine and about one and a quarter inches long. This part tests the muscle to see if there has been any damage to it as a result of the nerve problem or if the disease involves the muscle itself rather than the nerve.

Lee R Dorey, M.D., P.A.

Sometimes EMGs are thought to be a treatment of some sort, or a type of acupuncture. This is not true; an EMG is only a test, much like an EKG or an X-ray are tests and not treatments.