Tests may include:
X-ray with a contrast material (barium X-ray)
. You drink a barium solution that coats your esophagus, allowing it to show up better on X-rays. Your doctor can then see changes in the shape of your esophagus and can assess the muscular activity.
What can throw off an EMG test?
- Are taking any drugs. Certain drugs that act on the nervous system (such as muscle relaxants) can interfere with electromyography results. …
- Have had bleeding problems or are taking blood thinning drugs, such as warfarin (Coumadin®) or heparin.
- Have a pacemaker.
Can EMG detect dysphagia?
Current Electromyography Research Related to Diagnosis and Treatment of Dysphagia. Clinically, EMG can be
used to diagnose, describe, follow, or exclude diseases
of the neuromuscular system.
Are there lab tests for dysphagia?
Blood tests: Including
thyroid-stimulating hormone, vitamin B-12, and creatine kinase
; may be useful, especially in neurogenic dysphagia. Imaging studies: May include videofluoroscopy, CT scanning, MRI, chest radiography. Endoscopic examination.
What are the neuromuscular causes of dysphagia?
Key Points. Dysphagia is often underestimated in neuromuscular disorders. It can be prominent in
dystrophies, inflammatory myopathy, mitochondrial myopathy, myasthenia, motor neuron diseases, and peripheral neuropathy
.
Can an EMG make things worse?
Muscle pain
from an EMG test gets worse or you have swelling, tenderness, or pus at any of the needle sites.
Why was my EMG so painful?
Pain is commonly associated with EMG,
because the procedure involves the use of needles and electric shock
. Not only friends and relatives who have had a previous EMG experience, but also physicians can sometimes discourage patients from undergoing EMG, believing that the test is very painful and of little benefit (1).
Can esophageal dysphagia be cured?
Many cases of dysphagia can be improved with treatment, but
a cure isn’t always possible
. Treatments for dysphagia include: speech and language therapy to learn new swallowing techniques. changing the consistency of food and liquids to make them safer to swallow.
What is a symptom of dysphagia?
Other signs of dysphagia include:
coughing or choking when eating or drinking
.
bringing food back up
, sometimes through the nose. a sensation that food is stuck in your throat or chest. persistent drooling of saliva.
What are the stages of dysphagia?
- Oral preparatory phase. During this phase, you chew your food to a size, shape, and consistency that can be swallowed. …
- Pharyngeal phase. Here, the muscles of your pharynx contract in sequence. …
- Esophageal phase. The muscles in your esophagus contract in sequence to move the bolus toward your stomach.
What are three disorders that cause dysphagia?
Neurological conditions that can cause swallowing difficulties are: stroke (the most common cause of dysphagia); traumatic brain injury;
cerebral palsy
; Parkinson disease and other degenerative neurological disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), multiple sclerosis, …
How is neurological dysphagia treated?
Treatment of neurogenic dysphagia involves
treatment of the underlying neurologic disorder
(if possible), swallowing therapy (if oral feeding is reasonably safe to attempt) and gastrostomy (if oral feeding is unsafe or inadequate).
Can you recover from severe dysphagia?
Studies show that most individuals with
dysphagia recover within two weeks
. However, every stroke is different and therefore every recovery will be different. Sometimes dysphagia goes away on its own, a phenomenon called spontaneous recovery. Chances of spontaneous recovery are higher if your stroke was mild.
Why would a doctor order an EMG?
EMG results are often necessary to help diagnose or rule out a number of conditions such as:
Muscle disorders
, such as muscular dystrophy or polymyositis. Diseases affecting the connection between the nerve and the muscle, such as myasthenia gravis.
Can I drive home after EMG?
You may need to stay in the outpatient facility or hospital for a short period after your EMG. Your team will apply warm compresses to your injection sites to reduce pain.
You will not be able to drive for about 24 hours if you had sedation
because you will still be drowsy.
Will an EMG show a pinched nerve?
EMG and NCS are tests that measure the electrical activity of the muscles and nerves of the body, usually to an arm or a leg. The tests can help identify nerve injury or muscle disease such as carpal tunnel syndrome, a pinched spinal nerve, peripheral neuropathy, myositis, or ALS.
