Tibial nerve F-wave recordings

ABSTRACT Introduction Tibial F‐wave recordings are remarkable for their complexity and persistence. We postulate that the signal recorded by the E2 (reference) electrode causes this pattern. Methods Tibial F‐wave recordings were made from the abductor hallucis (AH) muscle using the standard montage in 10 subjects. Additional far‐field simultaneous F‐wave recordings were made from the AH, the base of the large toe, and the base of the small toe with the E2 placed on the contralateral foot. Results F‐wave recordings made in the standard manner and from the base of the large or small toes showed complex waveforms and similar latencies. Recordings made from the AH‐contralateral foot had simple waveforms in most subjects; in 2 subjects the latencies were longer, and 1 showed reduced persistence. Conclusions The tibial F‐waves are composed primarily of volume conducted recordings of the tibial‐innervated foot muscles from the E2 electrode. Muscle Nerve 52: 997–1000, 2015