kayjoe,
I apologize if I confused you more but you said if I wanted to add anything else that you would appreciate it. Here goes! Try doing a search for carpal tunnel syndrome or more specifically - anatomy of carpal tunnel syndrome if you haven't already. I have found some good pictures at some websites that better explain what is difficult to explain with words alone. I don't believe EMG's will aide in the diagnosis of tendonitis but they will help to tell how well the muscles may be working. Tendonitis may ultimately cause the muscles to not work very well and that is a big problem.
It is a cascading effect. - a series of reactions. You have to have nerves in order to use muscles. If a big nerve in the right place got cut in half then you would become paralyzed because the nerve would no longer be able to send messages to the muscle and tell it that you want to move that muscle so you could do whatever it is you wanted to do. Nor would you have sensation to the affected area. On a lesser scale, if the nerve is getting pressed on (but it is still there) then you feel numbness, tingling, and may not be able to use the muscle you want to use very well because it is not getting the full impact of the signals that are sent to it by the nerve. Seems to me that pressure on a nerve causes numbness and/or tingling first, then some form of discomfort (pain, or in your case aching), followed by weakness in the muscle. That is why I think your Dr. is talking about doing another EMG - to see if there is enough pressure on the nerve to cause an interuption in the signals to your muscles. If another EMG comes back abnormal next time then mabey they will have a better clue. That doesn't much help you with the numbness, tingling, or aching you are presently experiencing. Anyway, if the tendon is irritated, then it swells. That makes the tendon fatter so it presses on the nerve that is right beside it and I already said what pressure on a nerve can do.
I can sure see why you are confused. I would be too. Seems like you are getting the run around from the Dr.'s, workman's comp., and the insurance co. Like fedorov5549 said, there are a lot of conditions that can be mistaken for CTS. Has your hand been x-rayed? You didn't mention that but an x-ray is less expensive than those other tests. I hope they at least got an x-ray to rule out arthritis in your wrist. You said the neurosurgeon said arthritis in your neck. If you have it in your neck, you could very well have it in your wrist. That was my problem. I had a classical presentation so I am sure that simplified the diagnosis. I was also referred to an excellent hand specialist and it is my understanding that the type of arthritis that I had can be mistaken for CTS if numbness/tingling occurs. I wasn't having numbness or tingling, just a lot of pain. My surgery for that was a complete success and it only took an examination of my hand and an x-ray to diagnose it. The joint injection, meds, and splint did not help so I had surgery.
Personally, I would stay away from lawyers and workman's comp. and stick to my insurance co. if possible. Get the treatment I need and let the insurance co.'s attorney persue the employer and workman's comp. if they thought it necessary. I have read too many horror stories about workman's comp. on these forums.
fedorov5549 - My left pinkie finger fell asleep a few weeks ago and it hasn't awakened yet! No pain or weakness, just numbness. Funny you should mention golfers elbow. I don't have elbow pain but I think I have been leaning on my left elbow a lot lately which may be compressing my ulnar nerve and causing the numbness in my pinkie. I have been trying to evaluate what I have been doing differently that may be causing numbnees in my pinkie and that is what I have come up with so far. BTW, do you actually golf? Good luck with your elbow pain.
kayjoe - I wish you the best of luck and I hope you get some resolution soon. Please keep us posted.
Brooke
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