Getting EMG Test - Will it Hurt?

[witchgirl101ycleanca]

Hi guy i am getting my EMG test soon not because i need one but because so many people have head one here so why not me, I have see n 2 nuros and they both told me i am fine. Well any way i have twitching all over like most of you here and yes even occasional tongue twitch. Well my question is does it hurt and are there specific body parts that i should ask for for them to test like my tongue can they test the tongue?Thanks guysjohnny

 

[MarioMasher]

You shouldn't need to tell them anything. They know what they are looking for, let them do their job. In my experience, a patient telling a doctor what to look for just makes things more complicated. They often know exactly what they are looking for the minute you walk in the door.As for hurting, my neuro told me he doesn't like doing unnecessary EMGs on people because he said it hurts. But I've heard people on here say that it doesn't. So I suppose it all sort of depends on your pain/uncomfortable tolerance. I've never had one myself so I couldn't tell you.

 

[mrpizz33]

Hi Johnny,had my EMG about 6 months ago. To answer your question regarding any pain i agree with mario, it very much depends on your own personal pain threshold. I had two parts to the tests, the first was small electric shocks to arms and legs which was fine. they then increased the amount of the shock to the point where my hand or foot jolted a bit, this didn't really hurt though. The second part of the test involved a fine needle inserted into my arms and legs, i then had to bend the limb with the needle inserted to measure the muscle activity (I guess), this was a bit uncomfortable but not really painful. With regard to telling them which muscle to check i wouldn't bother,they know exactly what to do, and i don't think it matters any way, if there is a problem it will be evident wherever they test you (that was the impression i got anyway). Nigel

 

[TompeteA]

In my opionion the nerve conduction study is more uncomfortable than the emg, which did not bother me at all. I was having the process done years ago at the University of San Francisco, I think the guy doing it was doing his residency, he could not find a nerve in my arm and shocked me about 20 times in the same spot, that got the pain up.As for the emg, just tell them your symptoms and let them do there job, surely tell them about your tongue. I did tell them where to stick me in the calf, my calf was going nuts, not visibly, but it felt like 30 bugs where running around in the muscle. I pointed at it and said "right there" He gave me a funny look, he was cool though, and stuck the needle right in the center of the action. No fasics showed up, it blew my mind. That jives with what Aaron has said about BFS fasics and ALS fasics, they are totally different.As for the tongue, at this same EMG I mentioned to the guy doing it if he had been told about my tongue, he said "what wrong with your tongue" I told him it was twitching. He took a quick look in my mouth and continued with the emg, at the end he stuck the need through my neck into the bottom of my tongue and said "stick out your tongue". I am not trying to scare you, it did not hurt, but that is how he did my tongue.