Nerve Conduction Test & Needle Study


Back Story: Around the first of the year I started with weakness in my right hand. It was a feeling like when you gripped something hard for a long time or when you used it a lot & it was very tired. It was also accompanied by a twitch/muscle spasm in my thumb & fore finger.

I went to see my Endo on January 29th & she suggested that I go to see an Orthopedic doctor that could look at the nerves in my hand/elbow. They called me & scheduled a Nerve conduction test for yesterday.

So off I went to have the test, after doing some research & being pretty nervous about it. I'll give you a step by step account of how everything went.

1. I was told to strip from the waist up & put on a stylish hospital gown.

2. I was given a very, very warm hot pack & I was told to put my hands on it to warm them.

3. The doctor came in & he had me grip his hands, push back on him etc so he could get an idea of what my right hand was doing, vs what my left was doing.

4. I Laid down on the hospital bed & had these sticky little probes connected to me. They are like the little metal disks they put on for an EKG. I had them all over my hand & fingers on the right side.

5. They hooked up leads to the little metal disks, they were black, red & green. I kind of felt like a car when you are jumping it :)

6. They took this thing that looked like a taser (no kidding), put ultrasound jelly on it & set it in several places on my arm & shocked me with electricity. The strength of the electricity ranged anywhere from what it feels like to be zapped after you have scuffed around the carpet, to what it feels like to touch an electric fence (they had a dial & they turned up the voltage when need be).

Honestly, this didn't really hurt so much as feel very strange. I did start to feel some pain when he would have to zap me several times in a row in a certain spot.

7. After the Nerve conduction test was done (about 20 minutes or so) they did what's called a needle study. They pulled out this very long thin needle that was connected to a lead wire as well. Apparently, they were looking for the natural electric current the body gives off.

8. They stuck the needle into the muscle of my arm/hand in about 7 or 8 different places & moved it around.

9. While the needle was positioned in my muscle the doctor would have me flex the muscle to listen to changes in the sounds coming from the machine he was working on.

All in all, this part was not cool. I honestly, was going to tell him to stop & turns out he was on the last one anyway. I was starting to get woozey from all the needle sticking.

Apparently, the nerve conduction test came back within normal range. He said the needle study didn't come back "Stone Cold normal" but it wasn't definitive enough to diagnose a problem either. He feels that either I have very mild carpel tunnel AND ulnar Nueropathy or I'm going to have it at some point anyway.

He sent me to be fitted for a wrist brace & also wants me to buy an elbow pad from a sports store. Both will be worn only at night to keep my wrist/elbow in a relaxed position.

He did take some x-rays of my neck/jaw as well & I haven't heard anything back about those so I'm not sure if that means they are normal or what.

I go back in a month to see if everything he gave me for ideas has improved my situation. If not then we'll need do an MRI on my elbow to get a more definitve answer.