Electroneuromyographic Parameters in Patients with Stenosing Process of the Cervical Spinal Canal

Abstract

One of the main causes of pain in the cervical spine, which causes the development of neurological deficit, is the stenosing process of the spinal canal with compression of the neurovascular structures. To determine the tactics of treatment, to predict the consequences of the disease, timely diagnosis of the functional state of  neural structures is of great importance.

Materials and methods. An informative method for diagnosing stenosing processes of the cervical spine, along with radiography and MRI, is electroneuromyography (ENMG). The analysis was based on 35 patients with a stenosing process of the spinal canal at the cervical level (17 men, 18 women), the average age of patients was 47.7 ± 9.9 years.

Results. In the study of changes in the functional state of the axillary, radial, ulnar and median nerves, with stenosing processes, a unidirectional deviation of the entire ENMG complex of indicators of the limb with pain syndrome and contralateral limb was noted. A decrease in the amplitude of the maximum M-responses is recorded due to damage to the peripheral motor neuron and axon degeneration. Selective damage to the slow-conducting anterior motoneurons does not cause a decrease in the speed of impulse conduction due to demyelination. Bilateral changes in late electroneuromyographic phenomena (F-wave) are possibly caused by a  general reaction of the peripheral and central nervous systems.

Conclusion. In patients with a stenosing process of the cervical spine with severe clinical manifestations, ENMG values can be used both to determine indications for surgical treatment and to assess the dynamics of changes in the postoperative period.