[prettybird]

My husband is type 1 diabetic. He had an EMG to diagnose carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel. He had some wasting in his right hand before the test, but no pain to speak of. Immediately following the EMG he had tremendous pain, which continued for a long time. He has had surgery but some pain remains. Anyone ever hear of an EMG actually aggravating carpal/cubital tunnel syndrome?

Martha

[myodoc]

The needle portion of the examination helps us to detect muscle abnormalities and can be painful. Typically the pain resolves within 10-20 minutes. Rarely does this linger for more than a day. If so, other possibilities must be considered such as bleeding in the muscle, swelling and infection. Should this occur within the carpal tunnel or cubital tunnel, conceivably there would then be lingering pain. If the symptoms are persisting, it may be worthwhile to study further with imaging or ultrasound.