EMG scans measure the electrical activity of your muscles.
EMGs, or electromyograms, are used to measure the electrical activity of a patient's muscles, while thermal imaging scans detect different levels of heat emitted by the body. Both are considered safe methods for measuring a body's functions.
Purpose
Electromyograms check the response of the nerves and muscles to see if they respond properly to stimulation. Lack of response may indicate pinched or damaged nerves, weak muscles or even disease, such as post-polio syndrome. Thermal scans, or thermography, measures temperature differences in the body to show inflammation caused by different conditions, such as arthritis or the flu.
EMG Process
There are two parts to an EMG: a nerve conduction study and a needle examination. In a nerve conduction, the patient lies on a table and electrical shocks are sent through the body to measure the rate of nerve response. In a needle examination, a physician or technician sticks a quarter-inch-long needle into the muscle and moves it, noting the response of the muscle.
Thermal Imaging Scan Process
In thermal imaging, a technician takes a picture of parts of the patient's body using a camera that records infrared energy rather than light.
Safety of Electromyography
Patients may feel pain during an EMG from the electrical shocks, but this will last only as long as the shock is administered. The level of the shock is too low to cause harm to a patient or interfere with a pacemaker's current. The pain associated with needle examination comes only when the needle is inserted into the muscle. No chemicals or injections occur and there is no current running through the needle to cause any kind of harm. There may be a risk of infection if the needle is not clean.
Safety of Thermography
Thermal imaging poses no threat to a patient. There is no physical contact between the camera and the patient's body and the energy involved is radiated from the person not the camera.
Risks
EMGs and thermal imaging scans are recently developed testing methods that replace traditional methods, such as X-rays and CAT scans, to examine the internal functions of the human body. X-rays and CAT Scans expose patients to radioactive energy that can damage the body while EMGs and thermography do not.
Tags: needle examination, electrical activity, electrical shocks, imaging scans, into muscle, measure electrical
