Electromyography (EMG): What Is It, and Does It Hurt?

Written by Gary Cordingley


Medical tests arerepparttar pits. Not only do you have to worry aboutrepparttar 141643 meaning ofrepparttar 141644 symptoms that earned yourepparttar 141645 test inrepparttar 141646 first place, but you also have to worry aboutrepparttar 141647 test itself. Will it be painful? Will it be difficult? Willrepparttar 141648 person who does it be cruel?

Suspense can be valuable if you're Stephen King and writing horror fiction. Mr. King takes advantage ofrepparttar 141649 fact that your own imagination can conjure up scarier things than he can put onrepparttar 141650 page. That's why he makes you wait page after page to discover what scary thing is aroundrepparttar 141651 next corner. When he finally tells you aboutrepparttar 141652 giant, blue monster, it's not nearly as bad as what you had already imagined. If his monster was scarier than what you could imagine, do you think he would have made you wait so long? Of course not! Mr. King is no dummy. Just look at his sales record.

But when it comes to medical tests, suspense is no good. You don't need to worry aboutrepparttar 141653 test you're going to have in addition torepparttar 141654 medical problem that got your referred for it inrepparttar 141655 first place.

What about electromyography, also known as EMG? You should definitely not listen to what your brother-in-law has to say about it. If he hadrepparttar 141656 test already, do you think he's going to make himself sound like: (1)repparttar 141657 bravest guy in existence, or (2) a total wimp? Well, you know your brother-in-law better than I do, but my money is on number one.

So if you listen to your brother-in-law, he'll tell you what a terrible, awful, painful test it was, and how he was brave, valiant, and just aboutrepparttar 141658 most courageous guy who ever had it. So now he's got you quaking in your boots. Or at least worried.

Relax. It's not that big a deal. Have you been to a dentist? Probably not as bad. Have you ever given blood? Probably not as bad. Have you ever had a baby? Definitely, nowhere near as bad! (I'm a male, but my wife assures me on this one.)

So let's get down torepparttar 141659 particulars. An electromyography test involves needles. The needles do puncturerepparttar 141660 skin. Moreover, they enter muscle tissue. Butrepparttar 141661 testing is done with just one needle at a time and just one muscle at a time. Althoughrepparttar 141662 needles used in this test are larger than those tiny, hair-like items used for acupuncture, they are much skinnier than those used for blood-drawing.

You do feel them when they are inserted, butrepparttar 141663 electromyographer (doctor doingrepparttar 141664 test) gives you advance warning in each case, andrepparttar 141665 doctor tries to getrepparttar 141666 maximum diagnostic information out of each needle-insertion while simultaneously minimizingrepparttar 141667 pain. The goal is to obtain information, not to hurt you.

Arthritis-Fighting Drugs: The Ulcer Connection

Written by JR Rogers


If you read these chronicles, you know that I have constantly warned aboutrepparttar dangers of using NSAID's to tackle arthritis pain. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can cause serious problems and ulcers are one of them.

When we talk about NSAID's, we can include products like aspirin, Advil, Aleve, Motrin and many more. The newer group of NSAID's is also implicated. I am talking about Vioxx, Celebrex and Bextra.

The risk factor for ulcer complications is lower withrepparttar 141602 last group of prescription drugs but as most of you know, Vioxx was recently pulled fromrepparttar 141603 market because of possible cardiac implications. Of course,repparttar 141604 drug companies andrepparttar 141605 government are taking a closer look atrepparttar 141606 other two drugs in that category.

Ulcers: No Fun and They can be Yours Our stomachs have natural bicarbonate that protects us from ulcers. However,repparttar 141607 amount of bicarbonate is controlled by prostaglandins and in some parts of your body, they can cause inflammatory responses. When you listen to television commercials, they talk about Cox-I and Cox-II inhibitors. I am referring to ads for products like Celebrex and Bextra. Now, these two enzymes are in charge of manufacturing prostaglandins. The one that protect your stomach is ofrepparttar 141608 Cox-I type. They controlrepparttar 141609 amount of bicarbonate released into your stomach. The Cox-II type deals with inflammation through prostaglandin production.

The Bextra and Celebrex Connection This is what I call "high-end" NSAID's. They are prescription drugs and very expensive. Supposedly, these drugs control inflammation with less stomach irritation or complications. Of course if they followrepparttar 141610 course of Vioxx, they will not be onrepparttar 141611 market much longer either. The point is, these drugs were touted for their ability to control inflammation from arthritis with less stomach complications.

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