Will an EMG Show a Pinched Nerve?

Pinched nerves are common. About 85 out of 100,000 adults in the United States suffer from nerve pain every year.

If you experience any kind of numbness or persistent pain in your body, you need answers as quickly as possible. That’s when it’s time to contact us at University Pain Medicine Center.

As a team of chronic pain specialists, we know how to diagnose the root cause of your issue. We use a diagnostic test called electromyography (EMG) to determine the health of your muscles and the nerve cells that control them, called motor neurons. 

Let’s first look at symptoms that might call for an EMG test.

Symptoms of a nerve or muscular issue

You might need an EMG test if you experience:

• Continued cramping in your muscles
• Muscle weakness
• Sensations of tingling or numbness 
• Pain in your limbs

An EMG can confirm your condition and rule out others.

EMG explained

The EMG test is the most accurate test used to properly diagnose pinched nerves. 

It measures the:

• Speed of your nerves
• Amount of electricity running through your nerves
• Reaction time between the nerve to stimulus
• Pattern of your peripheral nervous system function

This test allows us to understand what’s causing your symptoms. For example, we can see if your pain is coming from pressure on your spinal nerve roots or if your nerve damage might be from another condition like diabetes.

How an EMG works

To perform the test, we first place electrodes on various areas of your body that sit on the surface of your skin. The electrodes are connected to a machine that allows us to monitor your muscle movements.

We may recommend a second phase to your testing. To perform this phase, we insert a needle electrode through the surface of your skin and into your targeted muscle area. The needle allows us to go to the deeper areas that surface electrodes can’t read.

The test evaluates the electrical activity in your nerves, showing us when they contract and when they rest. The results let us know if you have damage to your nerves that lead to your muscles.

Once we diagnose the source of your pain, we can provide customized treatment for you, which might include corticosteroids, physical therapy, or other recommended solutions to give you the relief you need. But, targeting the issue with an EMG test is the first step.

Are you suffering from a pinched nerve? Don’t delay making an appointment with our team at one of our six locations in New Jersey. Click here now.