Nerve Testing

What is nerve testing?

Nerve testing is a type of screening used by the team at Jersey Integrative Health and Wellness to get an idea of the functioning of your nerves and identify the sources of problems. If you’re experiencing symptoms like tingling in your arms and legs or widespread pain, the source could be a single pinched nerve along your spinal column. Nerve testing helps your doctor find the source in order to treat it accordingly.

How does nerve testing work?

Jersey Integrative Health and Wellness offers electrodiagnostic nerve testing at each of their clinic locations. Nerve testing typically consists of these two distinct parts:

Nerve conduction studies

During nerve conduction studies, the team places sensors on different parts of your arms and legs and stimulates them with tiny electric shocks. They read your pain response and interpret it to find out how fast or slow your nerves are functioning. They compare your numbers to those of an average person.

Electromyography (EMG)

EMG testing looks for pinched nerves in your neck or back. The team places needles into your muscles to read your nerve signals. Healthy nerves emit constant electrical signals, while those affected by a pinched nerve are choppy or otherwise abnormal. The EMG machine creates a graph of your muscle contractions that doctors can read and use to identify problems with your nerves.

Are nerve tests painful?

Electrical shocks, like those used in nerve conduction studies, sound like they might be painful. Most patients report that they are mildly uncomfortable but not painful. This part of the test is generally quite tolerable.

Patients report that the needles in their muscles used for EMG testing feel like muscle cramps or splints. While this isn’t the most comfortable sensation, the test is over quickly and helps guide your physician to the right pain relief treatment in the long-run. 

Do I need nerve testing?

The team at Jersey Integrative Health and Wellness may suggest that you undergo nerve testing if you have numbness, tingling, or other symptoms of nerve problems. Nerve testing helps the team find the reason why you’re experiencing such symptoms and helps to find the severity of any nerve damage. It can also rule out other conditions that mimic the feeling of a pinched nerve.

If nervous system symptoms are leaving you puzzled and uncomfortable, call Jersey Integrative Health and Wellness to undergo nerve testing and find their source today.