Understanding EMG

Electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies (NCS) are electrodiagnostic tests used for identifying neuromuscular diseases and for assessing low-back pain and disorders of motor control. Many doctors refer their patients to the clinical neurophysiology department for electrodiagnostic tests and are then faced with interpreting the results. This book teaches the principles of NCS and EMG, promotes better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of these techniques, and thereby improves their use. Understanding EMG is different from existing books in this field since it is written for a large group of referring doctors and other healthcare professionals who need to know the basic principles of NCS and EMG, including when to request and how to interpret the tests, but who do not necessarily need to know how to perform them.

About the Author

Dr Andrew Michell is a Consultant in Clinical Neurophysiology at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, and an expert Neurophysiology Consultant at the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Spire Cambridge Lea. His primary area of specialization is the assessment of nerve and muscle disease, including tingly fingers, neuropathies, nerve root disorders and primary muscle or neuromuscular junction disorders, which involve investigations with EMG and nerve conduction. Dr Michell is also involved in research into the objective measurement of abnormal movements in neurodegenerative disease, disease of peripheral nerve and muscle, and epilepsies.