Reproduction of radicular symptoms by paraspinal muscle EMG needling.

With a frequency of 0.3-0.5%, patients who had cervical and lumbosacral radiculopathies had their symptoms of radicular pain or paresthesia reproduced during needling of the paraspinal muscles at the level of the lesion. The occurrence of the patient's symptoms during paraspinal EMG needling is an insensitive but specific diagnostic sign which helps establish the level of a root lesion.