Muscle excitability testing: a primer

Muscle excitability is an experimental technique that probes the properties of the muscle fibre membrane in vivo. In doing so one can make determinations about the excitability of the membrane during different phases of the muscle velocity recovery cycle, which in turn allows for the assessment of membrane ion channel function. This has been applied to a range of nerve and muscle conditions. To date it has primarily been used to provide a better understanding of the underlying disease mechanisms and therefore is of relevance to physicians with an interest in neuromuscular conditions. Due to the high intra-individual repeatability and sensitivity of the test, interest is growing in its potential uses as a disease biomarker in therapeutic trials for patients with nerve and muscle diseases.