Maggie McKay (Host): Welcome to "Weekly Dose of Wellness," presented by Memorial Care. I'm your host, Maggie McKay. Today, Allison McCloskey, program manager of the Epilepsy and Neurodiagnostic Lab at Long Beach Medical Center, and Kinga Ivaniska, lead technologist, join us to discuss neurological care. Thank you both so much for being here.
Kinga Iwanicka: thank you for having us
Maggie McKay (Host): Let's start simple. Allison, what are nerves and why are they so important to how our body functions?
Alison McCloskey: Nerves are like electrical fibers that are part of our central nervous system. I like to think of them like highways that transmit information from the brain to the rest of the body. you could also look at it like an electrical grid. So they allow you to feel sensations, move your muscles, and they, assist our organs in functioning as well
Maggie McKay (Host): And what are the most common symptoms that might signal a nerve problem?
Kinga Iwanicka: Well, there are two types of nerves, motor nerves, which deal with movement, and sensory nerves which deal with sensation. So if you have some symptoms associated with your motor nerves, you might feel something like muscle weakness, loss of grip, muscular atrophy, a foot drop. whereas sensory nerve, symptoms could be associated more with, tingling, like pin prick sensation, numbness, burning.
you could possibly even have heightened sensation or, loss thereof, like no sensation at all. and typically people can have an overlap of both of these types of symptoms, motor and, sensory.
Maggie McKay (Host): And at what point should someone stop ignoring those symptoms and seek care?
Alison McCloskey: Well, I like to recommend seeking intervention whenever a symptom does arise. but particularly if a symptom becomes chronic, it's not self-resolving, it's interfering with your daily functions, you're definitely going to want to seek care urgently. For example, if you feel some weakness when you stand up, but in time you can't stand at all or on your own, you're definitely going to want to seek treatment
Maggie McKay (Host): What's a nerve conduction study and how would you explain it to someone who's never heard of it?
Kinga Iwanicka: a nerve conduction study is a study that is just like it sounds. It looks at the health of the nerve, and the study itself measures the speed and strength of electrical signals in the nerves. so during the study, what we do is we apply an electric stimulus to the nerve, and we're seeing how well the nerve responds to that stimulus.
we're looking at the speed of that nerve and just the response of the nerve itself. so in like a really simplistic way, if you think of the stimulus itself like a truck, like a mail truck for instance, and the nerve itself like a road, if that road is smooth, then that truck can, travel up that road really easily.
But if the road itself is kind of damaged, it's got bumps and cracks or potholes, then that truck kind of, you know, slows down and it takes a little bit for that to travel up the road
Maggie McKay (Host): And what kinds of conditions can this test help diagnose?
Alison McCloskey: Well, the study itself is extremely helpful in diagnosing nerve disorders, nerve damage, compressions. I think the most, common example would be carpal tunnel syndrome. So a lot of testing for carpal tunnel, herniated discs, peripheral neuropathy, and inflammation. A common reason for an exam, can be due to trauma, trauma to your nerves, or autoimmune disorders also will get this test
Maggie McKay (Host): What should patients expect during the test? Does it hurt?
Kinga Iwanicka: Well, the procedure itself is relatively simple. patients are typically lying down, comfortably. We usually put a blanket on the patient. and unfortunately, it can be uncomfortable for some people due to the stimulus applied to the nerves, but it really is variable dependent on, the patient's condition and, you know, any other underlying factors that they may have.
most patients find it absolutely bearable. it kind of feels like when you hit your funny bone and you feel that vibration on a nerve. and that vibration creates a twitch in the muscle, and that can kind of cause a little bit of a startle response, and that seems to be the biggest thing that patients experience is more of the startle.
but definitely, the level of comfort is, greatly dependent, patient to patient
Maggie McKay (Host): How long does it take? And is there anything patients need to do to prepare for it?
Alison McCloskey: So the test takes between 20 minutes to an hour generally, depending on how many nerves we're, testing. So, the time does vary. There's really not a lot of prep involved. We do recommend the patient to be warm, because if you're cold, it can slow down the conduction velocity of the nerve
Maggie McKay (Host): Once you have results, how do they help guide treatment or next steps?
Kinga Iwanicka: well, the nerve conduction study, can help a doctor determine whether a nerve problem exists at all, and if there is a problem, where the problem is located and, how severe the problem is. Also, what type of nerve is affected, whether it's sensory, motor, or both. but typically, any sort of treatment on intervention past the result is between the physician and the patient, to decide any treatment options, physical therapy, medication, or in some cases, surgery
Maggie McKay (Host): Can nerve damage be reversed or is early detection the key?
Kinga Iwanicka: Well, that's also a little bit variable. early detection is always the best choice. And, peripheral nerves, they really do, regenerate on their own. However, they regenerate quite slowly. they only, regener-regenerate at about, one millimeter per day. So if you imagine, you have some nerve damage maybe in your arm or your leg, and the nerve is quite long, let's say a foot or so, it can really take months or years to fully recover whatever damage was done, if you can recover at all.
So again, there's a lot of variability. It is very dependent on the degree of nerve damage and the cause.
Maggie McKay (Host): What's one thing listeners should know about protecting their nerve health?
Alison McCloskey: No smoking. besides the no smoking, B vitamins are incredibly important for your nerve health. Exercising, obviously. Reducing inflammation. Regulating your blood sugar. And like I said before, no smoking. Smoking is really bad for your nerves
Maggie McKay (Host): Is there anything else either of you would like to add in closing?
Alison McCloskey: I think Kinga covered most of the clinical aspects, but we are always here for our patients
Maggie McKay (Host): Well, thank you both so much. This has been so informative, and we really appreciate your time
Kinga Iwanicka: Thank you so much for your time.
Alison McCloskey: Thank you for
Maggie McKay (Host): Absolutely. Yes, it was very interesting. Again, that's Alison McCloskey and Kinga Iwaniska. To find out more, please call 562-933-2258. That's 562-933-2258. I'm Maggie McKay. Thanks for listening to Weekly Dose of Wellness from Memorial Care.