Electrodiagnostic challenges in the evaluation of lumbar spinal stenosis.

Taken together, the most common electromyographic finding in lumbar spinal stenosis is bilateral multilevel radiculopathy. The sensitivity of electrodiagnostic testing for radiculopathy is difficult to quantify because there is no criterion standard. Differentiating peripheral neuropathy and lumbar spinal stenosis on electromyography and routine nerve-conduction studies can be clinically challenging, especially when the two entities may be present simultaneously in older patients.