Analysis of Electrophysiological Parameters as an Early Indicator for Nerve Root Involvement among the Patients with Acute Lumbar Radiculopathy

Electrophysiological parameters especially the late responses which include H reflex analysis are of great significance and importance in diagnosing and predicting the level of nerve root involvement radiculopathy patients. The main objective of the present study was to analyse the electrophysiological parameters like amplitude and latency for prediction of nerve root involvement in lumbar radiculopathy patients. The present research project study was undertaken on 50 diagnosed patients of lumbar radiculopathy. The study participants were between the age group of 30-60 years and were having the low back pain ranging from 30-60 days. The bilateral nerve conduction studies were performed for posterior tibial nerve, sural nerve, and late responses like H waves were studied and analysed for amplitude and latency for all the patients. Patients with radiculopathy showed significant reduction in the amplitude of sural sensory nerve, the latencies were prolonged among the patients with L5-S1 root involvement based on the MRI findings. H wave’s amplitude asymmetry was significantly noted among the patients with L5-S1 root involvement suggesting the axonal compression at nerve root level earlier than the changes in the latencies for H waves. Prolonged latencies is reduction in the amplitude of sural nerve as well as, the amplitude asymmetry for late responses like H waves can be considered as one of the earlier signs of compression of the nerve roots in lumbosacral radiculopathy.