The entire thought of having electricity run through your body during a medical test can be enough to scare many people off. The electricity you may think of in your home that runs your appliances and television is not the same type of electricity that will enter your body in a clinical setting, nor is it anywhere near the same level of current. In fact, many people who have had any form of medical electric test have only reported minor discomfort, likened to a static shock from a doorknob. Before you shy away from the idea of these tests, let’s first understand more about how they work and the benefits they can offer patients who may be experiencing severe pain that has yet to be properly diagnosed.
Nerve Conduction Testing and its Purposes
Nerve conducting testing is the term used for a range of different diagnostics procedures, but each share one thing in common; they use electrical currents to determine whether or not the nerves are reacting properly to stimulation. If the nerves are not, you could be experiencing pain and numbness in your hands, wrist, spine or other locations of the body.
- Compression neuropathies such as carpal tunnel syndrome are commonly hard to diagnose. In this case, electrical diagnosis is one of the best ways to find the damaged nerves.
- These tests can diagnose peripheral neuropathy, spinal disc herniation, ulnar neuropathy, Cubital Tunnel syndrome and more.
- While the test is considered a non-invasive procedure, it can cause some pain due to the electrical currents.
- Patients that undergo the procedure are usually suffering from unknown pain, numbness and movement limitation in some parts of their bodies for unknown reasons.
- Nerve conduction testing is an often successful way to offer the patient a proper diagnosis so treatment can begin for main management and damage restoration in the nerves.
Some patients with pacemakers may have reservations about the tests, however no issues between the electrical currents of the test and the use of any implanted stimulators have been connected. In fact, with the rise in medical use of pacemakers, deep brain stimulators, and other medical devices of similar type both the nerve conduction testing and the often-combined electromyography are some of the safest and least invasive ways to diagnose chronic or acute pain you have been feeling. From carpal tunnel syndrome to a wide range of other nerve and muscular ailments, electrical medical tests are often the fastest way to the right treatment program.
