Ottawa Neuromuscular Centre

A nerve conduction study is a test for sensory and motor nerve activity.

Your neurologist or technologist will place two separate electrodes on your skin over the nerve or muscle and then apply a mild electrical stimulus at some point away from those electrodes. The speed of transmission and the electrical response from the nerve or the muscle is measured and calculated.

You may feel a mild stinging sensation on your skin during the test. Once the stimulation is over, the computer will record the result. The test takes between 20 and 30 minutes as well as the consultation time with the physician if required.

Repetitive nerve stimulations are a series of electrical stimulations that are repeatedly delivered to the nerve for a few seconds, and the response of the muscle connected to the nerve is recorded. This test usually lasts for 5 to 10 minutes.

Electromyography is a test to check the activity of your muscles. This is done by inserting a small needle electrode into the muscle, which is used to help diagnose nerve compression from the neck or back (radiculopathies), neuropathies, muscular dystrophy, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. We use the natural electrical activity in the muscle recorded at rest and with minimal contraction to check muscle responsiveness. This test usually lasts for 10 to 20 minutes.

Single fibre electromyography is a test to assess the function of individual muscle fibres. A small needle electrode is inserted into the muscle to record electrical activity. The combination of both tests is used to help diagnose neuromuscular junction disorders. This test usually lasts for 30 minutes.

This is a painless diagnostic procedure that allows us to create images of your nerves and muscles. The ultrasound machine uses sound waves to check for trapped nerves and other neuromuscular disorders.

Genetic testing is done primarily to identify certain changes in chromosomes, genes, or proteins of a person with a genetic disorder. This is performed by collecting tissue samples from the patient (i.e. blood, muscle) and then sending the samples to genetics laboratories for sequencing.

We perform ultrasound-guided needle biopsies as well as open muscle biopsies performed by our surgical colleagues.

A skin punch biopsy is a minimally invasive procedure that involves removing a small sample of skin to evaluate epidermal sensory nerve fibres and to determine the presence of small fibre neuropathy.

Also known as a spinal tap, a lumbar puncture is a procedure that may be used to collect and analyze cerebrospinal fluid to assess acquired neuropathies or to infuse treatments at the Neuro Muscular Centre