ECG contamination of paraspinal EMG measurements is a known issue (1,2), with several proposed methods of correction(3,4). In addition to this some question remains to how much of an effect this contamination actually has on the EMG recordings. From a population of 455 previously recorded EMG datasets, 33 severely contaminated sets of data were selected. These 33 datasets were analysed to produce the Half-Width, RMS, RMS Slope, RMS Intercept, MF Slope, and MF Intercept variables. The Independent Component Analysis method was used to separate the EMG data into a series of additive subcomponents which allowed the removal of ECG contamination whilst preserving underlying EMG. The subcomponents were then reintegrated to produce the original EMG signal, minus the contamination. The resultant signal data were analysed to produce the same outcome variables so a comparison could be made.Introduction
Methods
Doubt has been cast over the accuracy of dermatome charts. This study investigated a large group of patients with known lumbar nerve root compression (NRC), and identified whether their radicular pain corresponded with the predicted distribution on a dermatome chart. The study included 209 patients that presented with lumbar radiculopathy. 106 were confirmed as L5 NRC and 103 as S1 NRC, by MRI. Each patient used an interactive computer assessment program to record their pain on a body map image. The coordinates were then used to compare the sensory distribution to a standard dermatome chart.Background
Methods
