Abstract
Introduction: We sought to determine whether electrical impedance myography (EIM) could serve as a diagnostic procedure for evaluation of radiculopathy. Methods: Twenty-seven patients with clinically and radiologically diagnosed cervical or lumbosacral radiculopathy who met a "gold standard" definition underwent EIM and standard needle electromyography (EMG) of multiple upper or lower extremity muscles. Results: EIM reactance values revealed consistent reductions in the radiculopathy-affected myotomal muscles as compared with those on the unaffected side; the degree of asymmetry was associated strongly with the degree of EMG abnormality (P<0.001). EIM had a sensitivity of 64.5% and a specificity of 77.0%; in comparison, EMG had a sensitivity of 79.7% but a specificity of 69.7%. Conclusions: These findings support the potential for EIM to serve as a new non-invasive tool to assist in diagnosis of radiculopathy; however, further refinement of the technique is needed for this specific application.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 800-805 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Muscle and Nerve |
Volume | 48 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Cervical radiculopathy
- Electrical impedance
- Electromyography
- Lumbosacral radiculopathy
- Muscle
- Reactance
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physiology
- Clinical Neurology
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
- Physiology (medical)