If you’ve suffered from a traumatic brachial plexus injury that affects the movement of your shoulder, arm or hand, doctors will likely order electrophysiologic testing.

Electro-diagnosis uses the body’s own nervous system to determine how well electrical impulses travel along nerves to stimulate a response in the targeted tissue. This tissue could be a muscle or a gland. Specialists are able to determine which nerves may be injured, where that injury is localized, and if there is a problem with the target tissue which is causing it not to react to nerve signals. This helps narrow down treatment options.

Electrophysiologic Tests

A couple of common electrophysiologic tests for brachial plexus injuries include nerve conduction studies (NCS) and electromyography (EMG).

Nerve conduction studies send an impulse, or shock, through one end of a nerve and attempt to detect that impulse further along the nerve. Nerve conduction studies help doctors narrow down the specific point on the nerve where damage occurred. From that information they can identify the segment that needs to heal or be repaired.

Electromyelography studies muscles, and their ability to respond to a nerve signal. If there is nerve damage, it tests the muscle’s response to signals beyond the nerve damage, in order to make sure the muscle still works. If it responds to a stimulus, doctors can explore ways to help the muscle receive impulses from a previously damaged nerve, and make that muscle functional again.

Intra-Operative Nerve Testing

Additional electrodiagnostic tests are often completed during surgery. For example, when it’s suspected that a nerve has been pulled away from the spinal cord, called an avulsion injury, motor evoked potentials and somatosensory evoked potentials may be used. These tests examine communication between the brain and the spinal cord. The brain is stimulated and a recording is taken in the spinal nerve to see if the signal passes through. The spinal nerve may also be stimulated with a recording in the brain to see if the message passes into the brain.

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After a serious injury, it’s important to receive the highest quality care possible so that testing and treatments are completed which help the accident victim recover. Dr. Greg Vigna, brachial plexus injury lawyer, works closely with specialists in brachial plexus injury and integrates leading edge testing and treatments in your legal case.