Nerve Testing for Chronic Foot Pain

What You Need To Know

Learn how nerve testing works and what it can reveal about chronic pain and neuropathy.

Understanding Nerve Sensory Testing

Nerve/Neurological Sensory Testing is performed using an electromyogram (EMG), which measures the electrical activity of muscles at rest and during contraction. Nerve conduction studies measure how well and how fast the nerves can send electrical signals. These impulses make the muscles react in specific ways, allowing your doctor to evaluate the responsiveness of the nerves and muscles. An abnormal response indicates a problem, and may help to establish the specific nature of the issue.

Neuropathy refers to nerve damage, characterized by uncomfortable symptoms including tingling, numbness, and burning. As the condition progresses, it can affect your ability to maintain balance or control your bowels and bladder. Common culprits include metabolic diseases like diabetes, exposure to certain toxins, and alcoholism.

Symptoms of neuropathy include numbness, tingling, or prickling sensations, extreme sensitivity to touch, muscle weakness, throbbing, jabbing, or burning pain, and heat intolerance. As nerve damage worsens, you might also experience lightheadedness, nausea, or excessive sweating.

Several factors may increase your risk, including diabetes, alcoholism, kidney or liver disease, thyroid disorders, vitamin deficiencies, and a family history of neuropathy. Make an appointment at Advanced Foot and Ankle Center if you regularly experience tingling or burning sensations in your feet, so your provider can evaluate your symptoms and recommend next steps.

What to Expect During Your EMG

If you have leg pain or numbness, an EMG can help find out how much your nerves are being affected. The test checks how well your spinal nerves and the nerves in your arms and legs are working. Your provider will conduct the test in a room designed to block outside electrical interference.

You will be asked to either lie down on a table or sit in a reclining chair to relax your muscles. The skin around the testing area is cleaned, and an electrode attached to a recording machine is placed on the skin. Once the electrodes are in place, the electrical activity in your relaxed muscle is recorded. Next, your technologist will ask you to slowly tighten the muscle so activity in the contracted muscle can be recorded. To get a complete reading, the electrode may need to be moved several times. The EMG test usually takes 30 to 60 minutes.

No major preparation is necessary. You should bathe or shower the day of the test, and your doctor may ask you not to use lotion or oil on the area being examined, as these may interfere with results. Inform your doctor if you have a pacemaker or cardiac defibrillator, as electrical stimulation may affect these implants.

There may be some mild muscle soreness following an EMG, but this should subside after a day or two. You will receive your results within a couple of days, and if needed your doctor will work with you to build a treatment plan based on the findings. EMG testing is often covered by health insurance, and it remains a safe, valuable tool for diagnosing the source of pain or numbness in the legs.