Diagnostic Tests for Pain
Diagnostic Test list for Pain:
The list of diagnostic tests
mentioned in various sources as
used in the diagnosis of Pain
includes:
- General inspection
- Posture, mobility, weight, color of skin, facial appearance, general body build
- Physical examination
- Examine the area that is affected by pain
- Examine other relevant body systems
- Blood tests (should be selected judiciously depending on the area affected by the pain)
- Urine tests (should be selected judiciously depending on the area affected by the pain)
- Radiological investigations (should be selected judiciously depending on the area affected by the pain)
- Electromyography (EMG)
- Nerve conduction studies
- Evoked potential (EP) studies
- MRI
- Neurological examination
- X-rays
Home Diagnostic Testing
These home medical tests may be relevant to Pain causes:
- Nerve Neuropathy: Related Home Testing:
- Brain & Neurological Disorders: Related Home Testing:
Tests and diagnosis discussion for Pain:
There is no way to tell how much pain a person has. No test can measure
the intensity of pain, no imaging device can show pain, and no instrument
can locate pain precisely. Sometimes, as in the case of headaches,
physicians find that the best aid to diagnosis is the patient's own
description of the type, duration, and location of pain. Defining pain as
sharp or dull, constant or intermittent, burning or aching may give the
best clues to the cause of pain. These descriptions are part of what is
called the pain history, taken by the physician during the preliminary
examination of a patient with pain.
Physicians, however, do have a number of technologies they use to find
the cause of pain. Primarily these include:
- Electrodiagnostic procedures include electromyography
(EMG), nerve conduction studies, and evoked potential (EP)
studies. Information from EMG can help physicians tell
precisely which muscles or nerves are affected by weakness or pain. Thin
needles are inserted in muscles and a physician can see or listen to
electrical signals displayed on an EMG machine. With nerve conduction
studies the doctor uses two sets of electrodes (similar to those
used during an electrocardiogram) that are placed on the skin over the
muscles. The first set gives the patient a mild shock that stimulates
the nerve that runs to that muscle. The second set of electrodes is used
to make a recording of the nerve's electrical signals, and from this
information the doctor can determine if there is nerve damage. EP
tests also involve two sets of electrodes-one set for stimulating a
nerve (these electrodes are attached to a limb) and another set on the
scalp for recording the speed of nerve signal transmission to the brain.
- Imaging, especially magnetic resonance imaging or MRI,
provides physicians with pictures of the body's structures and tissues.
MRI uses magnetic fields and radio waves to differentiate between
healthy and diseased tissue.
- A neurological examination in which the physician tests
movement, reflexes, sensation, balance, and coordination.
- X-rays produce pictures of the body's structures, such as
bones and joints.
(Source: excerpt from
Pain - Hope Through Research: NINDS)
» Next page: Glossary
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