Electromyogram (EMG)

Our specialists study your muscles and nerves with electromyograms (EMGs). The EMG uses electrodes to transmit or detect electrical activity to help identify neuromuscular abnormalities. Our group is the most experienced in electrodiagnostic studies, and our patients have shorter wait times for EMG appointments.

Electromyography is a diagnostic procedure that measures a muscle’s response in response to nerve stimulation of that muscle. The electrical activity of the muscle is measured during the rest, slight contraction and forceful contraction periods. During the test, one or more needle electrodes penetrate the skin into the muscle to record the electrical activity. Once the electrode(s) are inserted, the physician may ask you to contract a muscle by bending an arm or leg.  That information will be displayed on an oscilloscope (a monitor that that shows the electrical activity in the form of waves) as well as in graphs, sounds or numerical values that your physician can interpret.

The Nerve Conduction Study (NCS), another part of an EMG, are electrodes that are taped onto the skin to measure the frequency, strength and speed of conduction of an electrical traveling between two or more points. NCS is typically performed at the same time as the EMG is and can predict nerve damage.

See our EMG pamphlet to learn more.