#3 Textbook Quotes Prior to 2015 Deletion of EMG

1. The Spine, 5th Ed. Saunders (2006) page 218:

“Whenever a patient, whose sole complaint is pain (affecting the limbs, neck or back), is referred for an EDX examination, there is the expectation that there is some concomitant damage to large nerve fibers that will register on the EDX exam. As is noted later, with chronic lesions this is usually an unrealized hope.”

2. Neurology for the Non-Neurologist - Lippincott (2007) Page 23:

“EMG and NCV in neck shoulder and back pain, in the absence of motor deficit, is costly, time consuming and seldom benefits the patient.”

3. Mass General Hospital Handbook of Pain Management, 2nd Ed. (2002):

“In most (over 50%) cases of neck and back pain the diagnosis remains unclear.”

“Most (over 50%) neuropathic pain syndromes are mediated by small-diameter pain fibers (A-delta and C-Type fibers), which are not evaluated by EMG/NCV so their value is limited.”

“In neck and back pain the physical examination seldom supports the nerve root(s) involved, but its main purpose is to rule out other serious pathologies.”