Nerve Conduction Study

This non­in­va­sive out­pa­tient exam is used to mea­sure how quick­ly nerves con­duct elec­tri­cal sig­nals through the body. NCS is a valu­able tech­nique for diag­nos­ing nerve dam­age. If dam­age exists, NCS can help a physi­cian find its source. In prepa­ra­tion for the exam, the patient is posi­tioned com­fort­ably on an exam­i­na­tion table. Elec­trodes are placed on the sur­face of the skin at var­i­ous loca­tions. Dur­ing the exam, mild elec­tri­cal cur­rents are sent into the body through stim­u­lat­ing elec­trodes. These sig­nals trav­el through the tar­get nerve. After these sig­nals have passed through the nerve, they are detect­ed by record­ing elec­trodes. This pro­vides a pre­cise mea­sure­ment of the speed and strength of the nerve’s response to direct stim­u­la­tion. The physi­cian can use this data to diag­nose nerve dys­func­tion. When the exam is com­plete, the elec­trodes are removed, the patient is able to go home right away. Because the exam is non­in­va­sive, the patient will expe­ri­ence no bruis­ing or soreness.

Click here to review a video illus­tra­tion of Nerve Con­duc­tion Stud­ies.
(Infor­ma­tion obtained from www​.viewmed​ica​.com 2012 Swarm Interactive).