An EMG nerve test of the leg, paired with a nerve conduction study, shows whether a leg or low back nerve is being squeezed or has been damaged. At the Padda Institute in St. Louis a physician performs it and writes the report. To prepare, wear loose pants or shorts and skip lotion on your legs that day.
Your physician orders this test when the answer will change your care. Ordered tests are tracked at each visit of our physician-directed physiotherapy program until they are complete.
EMG and a nerve conduction study are done together to show whether a low back or leg nerve is pinched or injured. A physician does the testing and signs the report.
Leg pain, numbness or weakness can start at a pinched root in the spine or along a nerve in the leg itself, as with neuropathy. The test tells them apart, which decides whether something like a selective nerve root block makes sense.
First, pads on the skin send brief electrical pulses down the nerve; each one feels like a quick snap. Next, a fine needle samples a few muscles, and that part feels like a pinch. Afterward, nearly everyone carries on with their normal day.
Choose loose pants or shorts. Leave your legs free of lotion on test day.
Thirty to sixty minutes.
Show us you have it: Walk us through how you will get ready on the morning of the test. If any part is unclear, ask, and we will walk through it again at your next visit.
Related reading: the structures behind sciatica, sciatica.
Prefer not to fill in a form?
Same-day and emergency appointments are available.