EMG Test Information

What is EMG testing?

• Electromyography (EMG) is a form of electrodiagnostic testing that is used to study nerve and muscle function. EMG testing provides your doctor with specific information about the extent of nerve and/or muscle injury and can also determine the exact location of injury and give indication wether the damage is reversible.

What should you expect?

There are two parts to EMG testing:

1. Nerve conduction. The nerve conduction study entails stimulating the nerves at different points with small electric shocks, artificially activating them so their function can be measured.
2. Needle exam. This involves inserting very fine needles into several muscles. The needle picks up both the normal and abnormal electrical signals given off by a muscle.

What should you know before the exam?

• Side effects may include some muscle soreness, which rarely lasts more than an hour or two after the exam.
• Patients on anticoagulation or blood thinners and those with pacemakers or implanted defibrillators should notify the physician performing the test, but generally this is not a contraindication.
• Patients on medication should take their usual medication on the day of the test.
• Please come with clean, dry skin and no lotion for accurate testing.

Why has this test been ordered?

• If you have numbness, decreased sensation, tingling, radiating pain, or burning, your doctor may refer you for an EMG.
• Symptoms such as muscle spasms, weakness, and difficulty buttoning clothes, handling object, or walking may also indicate the need for an EMG.
• Conditions that EMG testing helps diagnose include carpal tunnel syndrome, a pinched nerve, radiculothapy, sciatica, neuropathies, muscle diseases, muscular dystrophy, Lou Gehrig's disease, and myasthenia gravis.

*Average pricing for this test ranges between $3,000 and $5,000.

Note: For patients with commercial insurance, we require $250 down at the time of the procedure. This test is not considered an office visit.