Imaging and nerve tests allow a doctor to see the internal structures without doing a medical procedure. So, these tests are commonly used both in the diagnosis as well as the monitoring of arthritis. These tests look for abnormalities of joints, organs, nerves and other signs of disease.
The tests can help identify nerve injury or muscle disease such as carpal tunnel syndrome, a pinched spinal nerve, peripheral neuropathy, myositis, or ALS. The presence or absence of injury can be helpful in determining further treatment.
An EMG measures the electrical impulses transmitted along nerves, nerve roots, and muscles. This test helps doctors determine whether pain or weakness originates in muscles or in nerves.
Joint inflammation is not the only source of arthritis pain. Some people living with osteoarthritis (OA) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) also have neuropathic pain. “It's a particular type of pain where there's damage to the actual nerves themselves.
Pain related to joints, such as from arthritis, will feel more like stiffness when going from sitting to standing. With tendon pain, it will feel sore when you push on the affected area. “Nerve pain is more of a burning, fiery pain,” says Dr. King.
Most often, abnormal results are due to nerve damage or destruction, including: Axonopathy (damage to the long portion of the nerve cell) Conduction block (the impulse is blocked somewhere along the nerve pathway) Demyelination (damage and loss of the fatty insulation surrounding the nerve cell)
Overall, having a nerve conduction study is an effective way to allow your neurologist to determine whether nerve damage has occurred, as well as to diagnose a range of conditions.
Joint pain that is not arthritis
Bone cancer. Lyme disease. Complex regional pain syndrome. Fibromyalgia.
Blood tests are not needed to diagnose all types of arthritis, but they help to confirm or exclude some forms of inflammatory arthritis. Your doctor may also draw joint fluid or do a skin or muscle biopsy to help diagnose certain forms of arthritis. Making an arthritis diagnosis may take some time.
Symptoms of arthritis
joint pain, tenderness and stiffness. inflammation in and around the joints. restricted movement of the joints. warm red skin over the affected joint.
Electrical tests of the nerve pathways, known as evoked potentials, are very helpful in confirming whether MS has affected the visual, auditory, or sensory pathways.
Electromyography and Nerve Conduction Tests are ordered to learn more about the health of peripheral nerves. These tests can establish if a nerve is pinched, and give a numeric value to how severely it is pinched and often where it is pinched.
If your sensory nerves are damaged, you may have a feeling of “pins and needles” or “electric shocks.” You may also feel coldness, prickling, pinching, or burning in your hands and feet. Some people become very sensitive to touch, while other people feel numbness.
The results are sent to the doctor that referred you for the test and are usually available within seven days.
Damage to these nerves is typically associated with muscle weakness, painful cramps and uncontrollable muscle twitching. Sensory nerves. Because these nerves relay information about touch, temperature and pain, you may experience a variety of symptoms. These include numbness or tingling in the hands or feet.
Peripheral neuropathy, a result of damage to the nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord (peripheral nerves), often causes weakness, numbness and pain, usually in the hands and feet. It can also affect other areas and body functions including digestion, urination and circulation.
Autoimmune diseases, in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissues, can lead to nerve damage. Sjogren's syndrome, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis are among the autoimmune diseases that can be associated with peripheral neuropathy.
If the underlying cause of peripheral neuropathy isn't treated, you may be at risk of developing potentially serious complications, such as a foot ulcer that becomes infected. This can lead to gangrene (tissue death) if untreated, and in severe cases may mean the affected foot has to be amputated.
Nerve pain is often described as feeling like a burning, tingling or pins-and-needles sensation. It tends to be chronic, lasting six months or longer and typically exists in the hands, feet, arms and legs. Joint pain. Joint pain results in swelling, redness, tenderness, warmth and stiffness on the joints.
Joint and muscle pain represent two different medical conditions. While muscle pain is pain felt when the body is in motion, joint pain is more often felt when the body is at rest.