close window
Housecall Archives
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffYour doctor may order an EMG if you have signs or symptoms that may indicate a nerve or muscle disorder. Such symptoms may include:
- Tingling
- Numbness
- Muscle weakness
- Muscle pain or cramping
EMG results are often necessary to help diagnose or rule out a number of conditions:
- Muscle disorders, such as muscular dystrophy or polymyositis
- Diseases affecting the connection between the nerve and the muscle, such as myasthenia gravis
- Disorders of nerves outside the spinal cord (peripheral nerves), such as carpal tunnel syndrome or peripheral neuropathies
- Disorders that affect the motor neurons in the brain or spinal cord, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or a herniated disk in the spine
References
- Ropper A, et al. Electrophysiologic and laboratory aids in the diagnosis of neuromuscular disease. In: Adams and Victor's Principles of Neurology. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3641085. Accessed June 15, 2010.
- Patient information. American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine. http://www.aanem.org/education/patientinfo/patientInfo.cfm. Accessed June 15, 2010.
- Electromyography and nerve conduction velocities. Muscular Dystrophy Association. http://www.mda.org/publications/quest/q75ss.html. Accessed June 15, 2010.
- Peripheral nervous system and motor unit disorders: Introduction. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec16/ch223/ch223a.html. Accessed June 16, 2010.
- Carpal tunnel syndrome fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/carpal_tunnel/detail_carpal_tunnel.htm#115143049. Accessed June 16, 2010.
- Horowitz SH. Overview of electromyography. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Access June 16, 2010.
- Sorenson EJ (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 16, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on