If you have recently had an EMG and nerve conduction study, the report can read like a foreign language. Normal versus abnormal. Demyelinating versus axonal. Acute versus chronic.
This guide explains what those terms generally describe, so the conversation with your referring provider makes more sense.
One thing to know up front: your referring provider interprets what your results mean for you. EMG Solutions conducts the study and delivers the report — the same day testing is done — so the conversation can happen quickly. What the findings mean for your particular treatment is a discussion for the physician who ordered the test.
What these tests measure
- Electromyography (EMG) evaluates the electrical activity of muscles at rest and with effort using a fine-needle electrode.
- Nerve conduction studies (NCS) measure how quickly and effectively signals travel along sensory and motor nerves, using small surface electrodes.
They are performed together — and, in fact, payers require that NCS and EMG be performed on the same day.
Together, they help localize where a problem is and describe its pattern. They can distinguish nerve problems from muscle problems, and describe how long something appears to have been going on. That information is what makes the report useful to the physician who ordered it.
For a comparison of electrodiagnostic testing and imaging, see our overview of MRI versus EMG/NCS.
Normal results
A normal study means there was no electrodiagnostic evidence of nerve or muscle dysfunction in the areas tested.
That is a genuinely useful result, and it is worth understanding what it does and does not tell you. A normal study does not always rule out every condition — particularly when symptoms are intermittent, very early, or coming from an area outside what was tested. Results are always interpreted alongside your physical examination, your history, and any imaging.
If your study was normal and your symptoms continue, tell your referring provider. That is information, not a dead end.
Abnormal results and what the terms describe
Abnormal findings are described using several patterns. Here is what the language generally refers to:
- Demyelinating pattern: The insulation around the nerve, called myelin, is affected. Nerve conduction studies may show slowed signal speed or delays.
- Axonal pattern: The nerve fiber itself is affected. Studies often show reduced signal strength.
- Mixed pattern: Features of both demyelinating and axonal patterns.
- Acute versus chronic: These describe how long the changes appear to have been present, which helps your provider understand the timeline.
- Localization: The report describes where the finding is — a specific nerve, a nerve root, or a broader pattern affecting many nerves.
- Severity: Reports generally describe findings as mild, moderate, or severe.
What any of these means for your treatment and your recovery depends on your overall clinical picture. Your referring provider will put the report together with everything else they know about you.
What “positive” means
A positive study means the test found objective evidence consistent with a nerve or muscle condition.
The value of that is specificity. Rather than describing symptoms, the report describes what is happening, where, and to what degree. That is often what allows a physician to move from investigating to treating.
Conditions commonly evaluated with EMG/NCS include:
- Entrapment conditions such as carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndrome
- Radiculopathies in the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, or sacral spine
- Plexopathies
- Polyneuropathies
- Myopathies
- Neuromuscular junction conditions
Our partners page includes a full list of indications for testing.
The treatment that follows is your referring provider’s call and depends on far more than the report alone.
What happens after your test
Your report is completed the same day. At EMG Solutions, testing and reporting occur on the same day the study is performed, and the report is sent to your referring provider.
During the study, the examiner may share general impressions, but the formal interpretation lives in the written report. That is deliberate — a complete interpretation requires reviewing all of the data together.
You will typically review the results and the plan with your referring provider shortly after. What comes next depends entirely on what the study showed and on your broader situation.
Questions worth asking your provider
Write these down and take them to your follow-up:
- What did the study show, in plain terms?
- What does that mean for what has been causing my symptoms?
- Does this change the plan, and how?
- Do I need any other testing?
- What should I expect over the next few weeks and months?
- Is there anything I should be doing or avoiding in the meantime?
- What symptoms should prompt me to call you?
If something in the explanation does not make sense, ask again. You are entitled to understand your own results.
About EMG Solutions
We are an EMG and NCS testing company. All of our providers are physical therapists board-certified in clinical electrophysiology through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties, and we have performed over 70,000 cases.
We provide services on a referral basis, both on-site at partner clinics and hospitals throughout the Southeast and at our own clinic locations in Athens and Huntsville, Alabama.
We are also home to the EMG Solutions Institute, developed in partnership with Rocky Mountain University — the first fully immersive, employee-model residency program in the United States designed to prepare physical therapists for board certification in clinical electrophysiology.
Meet our providers or see our patient information.
For referring clinicians
If your practice is considering adding EMG/NCS in-house, we contract with hospitals and clinics to provide on-site electrodiagnostic services.
Reports are completed the same day the study is performed. We can often accommodate a same-day referral or a STAT read. Our providers hold licensure and specialized certification in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, and we perform on-site services throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
In general, patients with numbness, tingling, radiating pain, or weakness lasting 21 days or longer are appropriate for referral.
Learn more on our partners page, or contact us at info@emgsolutions.com or 334-318-9023.
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It does not describe your individual results or situation. EMG Solutions performs electrodiagnostic testing and provides reports to referring providers; your referring provider interprets your results and directs your care. Please discuss your results and any questions with them.
