Expect small sticky electrodes placed on the skin and brief electrical pulses delivered over specific nerves, felt as a tap or short cramp. This is the first half of the appointment; electromyography with a fine needle usually follows in the same session.
Expect small sticky electrodes placed on the skin and brief electrical pulses delivered over specific nerves, felt as a tap or short cramp. This is the first half of the appointment; electromyography with a fine needle usually follows in the same session.
You sit or lie with the limb being tested exposed and resting. The technologist or neurologist cleans the skin and tapes small recording electrodes over a muscle, then uses a handheld stimulator to deliver a very short pulse over the nerve further up the limb. Each pulse makes the muscle twitch visibly, which is the response being measured. The intensity starts low and is increased in steps until a full response is recorded, so nothing arrives without warning. Several points along each nerve are tested.
Each pulse lasts a fraction of a second and stops the instant it ends. People describe it as a tap, a static shock or a brief cramp, and the muscle jump is often more surprising than the sensation. Nerves close to the skin at the wrist, elbow and ankle are more noticeable than deeper ones. Cold limbs slow conduction and produce falsely abnormal readings, so your hand or foot may be warmed first, which usually makes the study more comfortable rather than less.
Nerve conduction studies test the nerve; electromyography tests the muscle it supplies. Read together they distinguish a nerve problem from a muscle problem and localise where the fault sits, which is normally the whole point of the referral. They are therefore almost always performed in one appointment. There is no sedation for either half, so you drive yourself home. At CNS the neurologist who ordered the study performs and interprets it, at either the Las Vegas or Henderson office.
Clinical Neurology Specialists has been physician-owned since 1998, when Leo Germin, M.D., FAANEM founded it. Five board-certified neurologists and four advanced practice providers see patients at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, each with its own AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory.
Clinical Neurology Specialists is an adult outpatient neurology practice for patients 18 and older. The practice performs no surgery and operates no imaging suite, infusion suite or interventional pain programme, and provides no emergency or inpatient care.
Physician-reviewed. Reviewed by the physicians of Clinical Neurology Specialists — board-certified neurologists, AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories, physician-owned since 1998. Reviewed 1 August 2026. This article is general education for adults 18 and older and is not a substitute for a consultation.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.