The following is a summary of “Electrodiagnostic Studies in Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy” published in the December 2022 issue of Surgery by Davenport et al.
The majority of the time, a complete medical history, a thorough physical exam, and imaging of the spine are all that is necessary to establish a diagnosis of degenerative cervical myelopathy. In cases where the clinical picture is inconsistent, or there is worry about overlapping pathology, electrodiagnostic testing, such as nerve conduction examinations and electromyography, can be a helpful adjuvant.
These tests include electromyography. These examinations look into nerve conduction studies and electromyography, among other things. Electrodiagnostic testing is able to provide a more precise diagnosis of myeloradiculopathy, which is a disorder that can be diagnosed with it. This syndrome develops when there is simultaneous damage to the nerve roots and the spinal cord. A loss of sensation below the affected area characterizes it. As a direct result of this knowledge, the prognosis and the surgical treatment can be significantly more accurate.
Electrodiagnostic investigations are a helpful adjunct for spine surgeon. They should be performed when there are symptoms that are uncommon for degenerative cervical myelopathy or when there is a suspicion of a disease process that is occurring simultaneously. This is because both of these scenarios raise the possibility that there is more than 1 disease process at the same time. This is due to the fact that each of these possibilities boosts the chance that more than 1 disease process is taking place at the same moment.
