CHANGES IN ELECTRONEUROMYOGRAPHIC AND THERMOGRAPHIC INDICES IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE PAIN SYNDROME AT MONOSEGMENTAL CERVICAL SPINAL STENOSIS

Verkhozina Tatiana Konstantinovna, Ippolitova Elena Gennadievna, Tsyslyak Elena Sergeevna

The article presents the results of studying electroneuromyographic parameters and thermotopographic changes in soft tissues at the level of the lesion in the spinal motion segment and along the corresponding peripheral nerve in 35 patients with of the cervical spinal stenosis (M48.0 according to ICD-10) who were treated in the Irkutsk Scientific Centre of Surgery and Traumatology. The obtained electroneuromyographic indicators in patients with cervical spinal stenosis made it possible to identify changes in the M-response amplitude and the speed of conduction along motor and sensory fibers, indicating damage to the structures of the neuromuscular system. When measuring skin temperature, we recorded paravertebral asymmetry of up to 1.0 °C and thermal asymmetry in the areas where the electroneuromyographic pick-up electrodes were installed – n. axillaris, n. radialis, n. medianus and n. ulnaris – on injured and uninjured limbs. In 71 % of the examined patients, paravertebral hyperthermia (0.6–1.0 °C) was recorded on the affected side, which may indicate an increase in blood perfusion with increased metabolism in the inflammation site. Detection of thermal asymmetry during a thermal imaging study complements electromyographic data in diagnosing the condition of the spinal motion segment, spinal cord roots and peripheral nerves for prescribing appropriate treatment and monitoring its results.

Keywords:cervical spinal stenosis, electroneuromyography, thermal imaging.