ALS Tests: Sensitivity and Strength?

[AnnieBazemore]

What is with the tunning fork, the cold metal touch test and the pin pricks? If these are good what does that mean, if they aren't normal what does that mean? I understand the strength tests, but what is with this other stuff? Can't you still feel your legs and arms even with ALS, but you just cant move you muscle? Because they say that you still have the sense of taste and smell even though there is the bulbar form. I wish they would rename bulbar by the way. I think that by itself is an aweful name.

 

[PennyTwitch]

I would imagine those are sensory tests that aren't necessarily related to *** but other MNDs. If you cannot feel vibration or pricking...that might point the doc in another direction.

 

[BandersnatchF]

They're indeed other tests, but not tests for MNDs at all. For example, diabetics tend to lose sensation in their extremities (hands and feet), and the tuning fork test is often used to detect whether this is an issue. Needless to say, the chances of having diabetes are a lot higher than having an MND. Also, we all lose some sensation in our fingers and feet as we age, and (again) the neuro is checking for issues like that.