UAB Synopsis, Vol. 27, No. 10, March 17, 2008

New Lab Detects Neurological, Muscular Disorders

At UAB Highlands’ new electromyography (EMG) lab physicians evaluate neuromuscular symptoms to diagnose, confirm, or rule out suspected neurological or muscular disorders. The lab offers comprehensive electrodiagnostic services, combining nerve conduction studies and needle EMG with patient histories and physical examinations.

“EMG lab physicians use this information to form a complete clinical interpretation that defines diffuse versus focal abnormalities as well as the severity of patients’ disease,” says Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and EMG Lab Director Paige C. Roy, MD.

The lab, part of The Workplace, accepts referrals for adult and adolescent patients from UAB and community physicians. Typical indications for consultations are sensations of numbness, tingling, pain or cramping or weakness in the extremities.

“We evaluate entrapment neuropathies such as carpal and tarsal tunnel syndromes, and issues involving the brachial plexus or nerve roots in the lumbar or cervical spine,” she says. “We also encourage referrals for more diffuse problems such as polyneuropathies, myopathies, and conditions that affect the neuromuscular junction, such as myasthenia gravis.”

Dr. Roy and her EMG lab colleagues Mark Carter, DO, and Keneshia M. Kirksey, MD, also evaluate new problems in patients who have had previous surgeries, trauma, or entrapment neuropathies. “Symptoms may be due to old problems, but sometimes can indicate a new issue. During patient evaluations we combine the clinical picture with electrodiagnostic data,” she says. “When it’s clinically indicated, we go beyond more limited studies that might focus on a single area to look at multiple nerves and diffuse processes.”

With its strong musculoskeletal base, the UAB Highlands EMG lab complements work done in the Department of Neurology’s EMG lab, located at UAB Hospital.

Dr. Roy has undergone several years of EMG specialty training. She completed an EMG fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin and was chief resident in the Baylor College of Medicine/University of Texas Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Alliance.

The Workplace at UAB Highlands, located at 1201 11th Ave S, offers convenient, one-level parking to its patients. For more information on the UAB Highlands EMG lab or to refer a patient, call 205. 933.5300.