As far as I can tell, it is meant to rule out a number of other conditions/diseases of the spinal cord/brain. It does not have a bearing on whether you do/don't have MS, but it can serve to rule out others such as ALS, Myasthenia Gravis, and herniated discs.
Thanks. That's sort of what I was thinking.
My nerves also performed beautifully during my NCS. So what was explained to me was that it proved that my numbness and tingling are not a peripheral nerve problem. Like jcrain said it's more to rule out other diseases, and as I'm sure you know MS is a dx of exclusion. I am still in limbo with a dx, and I totally understand not wanting to have all that testing, testing, and more testing. I'm currently on a mental vacation, although I check in here, I'm not thinking about my last test result, if I'm gonna see the neuro-opth dr, etc., I'm just going on with life for now, because I was completely exhausted from all the back and forth.
Hope my tid bit helped!
Thanks, your info was helpful. I understand what you mean about being exhausted from all the back and forth. Mental vacations are awesome! Unfortunately, I think my vacation time is over. My neuro is now talking about repeating lumbar puncture. Sometimes, I just want to add myself to the MS 'do not call' list!
NCS and EMG test the peripheral and most of the root nerves. If the peripheral wiring is good and there are sensorimotor issues, they are coming from the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord.) Back to that old definition: "MS is a disease of the central nervous system ....."
Bob