Nerve dysfunction and injury are evaluated using a nerve conduction velocity (NCV) test. The test sometimes referred to as a nerve conduction study or nerve conduction test gauges the speed at which electrical signals pass through your peripheral nerves.

Where the nerve root emerges from the spinal cord is where your peripheral nerves begin. You can move your muscles and use your senses thanks to these nerves. Electrical signals are sent more swiftly and forcefully by healthy nerves than by damaged nerves.

Your doctor can distinguish between damage to the myelin sheath, the nerve’s protective coating, and damage to the nerve fiber with the help of the NCV test. Additionally, it can assist your doctor in determining if a condition is caused by a nerve injury that has impacted the muscles or a disorder of the nerves.

Now, NCV at home is possible by Star Imaging Home Healthcare Pvt. Ltd experts.

Why Might a Patient Need a Nerve Conduction Test?

In order to distinguish between a nerve disorder and a muscle disorder, NCV is frequently utilized in conjunction with an EMG. An EMG measures whether the muscle is responding to the nerve’s stimulation adequately, whereas an NCV measures a problem with the nerve.

The following illnesses or ailments can be examined using NCV at home:

The syndrome of Guillain-Barré: A condition where the body’s immune system attacks a portion of the peripheral nervous system. The legs may feel weak or tingly as one of the initial symptoms.

Carpal tunnel disorder: A syndrome whereby swollen tendons or ligaments at the wrist press against or crush the median nerve, which travels from the forearm into the hand. The fingertips become painful and numb as a result.

The illness Charcot-Marie-Tooth: A neurological disorder that is hereditary and impacts both the motor and sensory neurons. The muscles in the foot and lower leg become weak as a result.

A herniated disk condition: The fibrous cartilage that surrounds the disks in your vertebrae breaks down, resulting in this disorder. Each disk’s gelatinous center, which holds a liquid, is pushed outward. As a result, a spinal nerve is pressed upon, hurting the nerve and damaging it.

Neuropathy and chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy: These illnesses are the results of diabetes or alcoholism. One or more nerves may become numb or tingly at the same moment, among other symptoms.

Sciatic nerve problems: Problems with the sciatic nerve can have numerous causes. The most frequent cause is a spinal disk that has bulged or ruptured and is pressing on the roots of the sciatic nerve. Often, this leads to pain, tingling, or numbness.

In order to identify the cause of symptoms, including numbness, tingling, and ongoing discomfort, a nerve conduction test may also be performed.

Your healthcare professional may advise NCV due to other conditions.

What Are the Signs of Nerve Damage?

Nerve damage is generally thoughts of as a complication of diabetes, but it can also take place after an injury. Peripheral neuropathy is another term for nerve injury. Although other areas of the body may also be impacted, the arms, feet, and hands are where injured nerves are most prone to occur.

The nerves no longer get the signal from the brain to transmit feelings when you are hurt or undergo surgery. Nerves that have only sustained partial injury occasionally recover on their own. This advice from Coastal Empire Orthopedics’ Dr. Jonathan Shults can help you identify the indicators of nerve injury and the appropriate next steps.

How Nerve Damage Occurs?

Any accident can result in nerve damage, and the intensity of the injury is frequently correlated with the outcome. Your body tries to recover itself whenever feasible, although minor injuries may result in some nerve damage. However, more severe wounds can seriously harm the nerves, necessitating frequent nerve repairs.

Axons, which are also known as fibers, make up nerves. Tissues that serve as a kind of insulation are placed on top of these fibers. Occasionally, only the fibers are harmed following a wound. In the most severe cases, the tissues and fibers are both harmed. Sometimes the nerve is totally severed.

With the availability of NCV at-home services, Star Imaging Home Healthcare Pvt. Ltd can inform you all about the specifications of this test, and experts can answer any additional queries related to derve damages.

Harm to the nerves’ symptoms

You’re more prone to feel uncomfortable or even painful sensations without healthy nerves. These take place as a result of the nerves’ inability to transmit the right information from the brain to the spinal cord. Nerve injury symptoms include the following:

• Tingling or numbness in the hands and feet
• Feeling as if you’re wearing a sock or glove that’s too tight
• Weakness in your arms or legs in particular
• Dropping the things you’re holding on a regular basis
• You experience severe pain in your hands, arms, legs, or feet.
• A buzzing feeling that resembles a light electric shock
• In the area of the body that was wounded, nerve damage is typically worse.

What to Expect During the Nerve Conduction Test?

Although the specifics of nerve conduction tests can differ, they all generally go as follows:

• Any metal items, such as jewelry, that can obstruct the treatment will need to be removed.
• You might need to take some of your clothes off and put on a hospital gown.
• For the test, you can either sit or lie down.
• Your doctor for testing will locate the nerve.
• Two electrodes—one that stimulates the nerve and the other that records the stimulation—will be inserted into your skin by your doctor. They could use a paste or jelly to assist the electrode adheres to the skin.
• The stimulating electrode will give the nerve a small, transient electrical shock to excite it. One typical test, for instance, stimulates the finger’s nerves while recording the signal using two or more electrodes placed close to the wrist.

On one limb, the full test lasts between 20 and 30 minutes. It will take longer than an hour to test every limb. Although the sensation may be unpleasant, it is usually not painful.

The test might need to be done in many locations, according to your doctor. Depending on the problem being explored, the test is performed on an arm or a leg along the route of the nerves.

Your primary care doctor and the specialist who conducts the test can tell you when or if the test will need to be done again.

What Happens After an NCV Test?

You will have the paste applied to your skin to attach the electrodes removed. Electromyography (EMG) is frequently carried out concurrently with NCV testing.

Unless your healthcare professional advises you otherwise, you can resume your regular activities after the test. For example, your doctor could advise you to refrain from physically demanding activities for the rest of the day.

Depending on your circumstances, your healthcare professional can provide you with additional instructions after the treatment.

Cost of an NCV test?

Nerve conduction test cost varies from one diagnostic center to another. NCV test cost is approximately Rs. 1500 to Rs. 4500 for the NCV test. Therefore, an EMG/NCV Test cost in Delhi at different locations may vary.

Conclusion

Now that nerve conduction test is now possible at home, any patient suffering from nerve diseases can easily go for an NCV test at home. Experts from Star Imaging Home Healthcare Pvt. Ltd diagnostic center will come all the way to your home, get your test done, and will deliver results at the earliest.

Patients taking services from Star Imaging Home Healthcare Pvt. Ltd Diagnostic will never be unhappy with the services offered.

To avail of this test at affordable prices, just search NCV test near me, or directly contact Star Imaging Home Healthcare Pvt. Ltd Diagnostic Center to avail of nerve conduction test.