You should inform your doctor about any medications that you are taking.

The technician will use these electrodes to measure how well and how quickly nerve impulses are transmitted. Small electrodes will be taped to your skin and you may experience an unpleasant tingling or electrical shock. This type of study is often used to help diagnose conditions such as Lou Gehrig’s disease, Guillain-Barre syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, and peripheral neuropathies.ĭuring a nerve conduction study, you will work with a technician who has been trained in administering such a test. This includes measuring how fast electrical signals can be transmitted by the nerves. Nerve conduction studies differ from the electromyogram because they measure how well the nerves function. The technician will instruct you to contract your muscles by performing specific movements during the test. While this sounds painful or uncomfortable, the pain is much less than that experienced with injections since no liquid is being injected into the body. Any condition that affects the muscles, spinal cord, or nerves supplying muscles can cause these symptoms.ĭuring an EMG, small solid needles are inserted into the muscles in order to measure electrical activity. The EMG test can also be used to find the reason for muscle weakness or twitching. Conditions that can cause these problems include Lou Gehrig’s disease, myasthesnia gravis, and herniated disc. EMG testing is used to diagnose conditions that cause muscle tissue damage or damage to the junctions between the muscles and nerves. This test measures the electrical activity of the muscles when they are working to contract and when they are at rest.

How painful is emg nerve testing