#13 Historical Milestones

1918-1930: “H-wave is simply an ankle stretch reflex that adds no value in the evaluation of radiculopathy”. “Despite the theoretical value of F-wave it is of no help diagnosing radiculopathy.” Physical Med. & Rehab (See 1999*)

1945 Post War: Penicillin is misused for viral infections and EMG, which is incapable of measuring function or pain is misused for radiculopathic pain, which is why reports state: “The suspected nerve root cannot be ruled out.”

1953: EMG encompasses 1918-1944 EDx. Neurologists organize to promote EMG. Medical interns are told; “EMG is too complex. Just read the neurologist’s report.” Studies focus on severe surgical cases leading non-neurologists being lulled into remaining unaware of EMG’s stunning limitations. Trained in psychiatry (a branch of neurology) EMG promotes hope with profitable, but grossly limited science.

1958: Carlo J DeLuca, EMG researcher, warns neurologists not to underestimate significant EMG limitations.

1963: Hodgkins and Huxley win a Nobel Prize for their 1951 discovery of the Voltage-Gated Channels generating nerve signals and muscle contraction.

1976: Congress passes the Medical Device Amendment requiring new devices to meet “Safe & Effective” FDA standards. If EMG were introduced today it is unlikely it would meet FDA standards for diagnosing radiculopathy.

1980: Pain Management practices rapidly multiply and EMG’s limitations become common knowledge. Diagnosing radiculopathy shifts to matching bulging discs with pain but, unfortunately, over 50% of symptom free subjects have multiple non-pathological disc herniations. Spinal surgery failures remain near 80%.

1999: * 2002: FDA Class-II (Safe & Effective) functional F-NCS, the Neural-EDx™ prototype, is found to have 94.6% peer-reviewed sensitivity detecting, locating and quantifying painful radiculopathy.

2003: To support F-NCS the American Association of Sensory Electrodiagnostic Medicine is founded. By 2009 the AASEM under direction of James Hedgecock, PhD, F-NCS inventor, over 800 neurosurgeons, orthopedists, and pain specialists are certified.

2004: An EMG microvoltage potentiometer is added to the F-NCS to objectively detect action potentials.

2009: Multiple Medicare and QIC “Finding of Fact” support F-NCS to be “reasonable and necessary” and “entitled to payment.” Medicare Administrative Law Judges recognize the AASEM and F-NCS certification.

2010: Gieco & State Farm hire EMG experts to explain why Pain F-NCS can’t work. Backfiring, EMG experts are revealed to not understand pain physiology. Pain F-NCS is found efficacious and is fully covered. (See section #5)

2011: Physicians certified in F-NCS reach a consensus that over 50% of radiculopathic pain is referred to healthy nerve roots with half of the 50% reporting pain as coming from opposite the side of lesion.

2013: The F-NCS becomes the first EDx ever used in National Library of Medicine Physician Clinical Trials, through ClinicalTrial.gov a service of the National Institute of Health.

2015: 1918-1944 EMG is no longer mentioned in pain and neurology textbooks for diagnosing radiculopathy.

2018: Development of functional electromyography (F-EMG) moves forward.

2023: Functional F-EMG becomes part of the Neural-EDx™ system. The AASEM delegates certification to a new branch: the Academy of Functional Neuro-Science (AFNS). F-NCS/F-EMG comes under the F-EMG moniker.