Editorial Note on: Neurophysiological assessment of spine disorders: old fashion techniques for modern clinical problems

Editorial Note on: Spinal Cord advance online publication, 17 January 2012; doi:10.1038/sc.2011.166

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was developed in the 1980's and has revolutionized the clinical evaluation of patients with spine disorders: nowadays most spine disorders are easily diagnosed by expert neuroradiologists. However, a complete anatomo-functional characterization of the spine—an thus a correct diagnosis—can be obtained only including clinical neurophysiological examinations (electromyography and evoked potentials among others) and correlating MRI and neurophysiological findings with the patient's signs and symptoms. Hithererto, not all patients with spine disorders receive a prompt and correct diagnosis. Moreover, in some cases neurophysiological examinations are important not only for the diagnosis, but also for the monitoring and follow-up.

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