The value to the clinical neurologist of electromyography in the 1990s.

Increased knowledge in neurosciences and development of morphological and biochemical methods will continue to demand a greater sophistication of neurophysiological methods in relation to both recording and analysis. Today there are a number of EMG methods and parameters that have been proven useful in the laboratories where they have been developed. Wider use of these methods will improve the general quality of EMG studies, promote further understanding of pathological conditions and therefore be of value for the specialty of electromyography. Furthermore, even rather small computers are extremely helpful in improving analysis methods. The consistency, accuracy and possibilities of extracting new information offered by computer-aided analysis of neurophysiological signals will hopefully increase our understanding of muscle-nerve physiology and pathophysiology and improve the diagnostic yield of the methods used in the neurophysiology laboratory. Often the neurophysiological evaluation is inexpensive and can be carried out quickly and adds new facts to the picture. In summary, clinical neurophysiology continue to develop a number of sophisticated methods for better understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms. EMG describes the functional status of the central and peripheral nervous systems and is complementary to other techniques for evaluation of the patient with neurological disorders.