The clinical electromyographer routinely performs an analysis of motor unit potentials (MUPs), consisting of isolating a waveform, recording phases and the peak-to-peak height of the response or amplitude. Selecting a muscle that will assist in determining whether a chronic condition is present in an anatomical distribution requires analysis of established criteria. Sampling of the first dorsal intereosseous muscle of the foot (FDI) as a distal muscle to survey in chronic neuropathy involvement, has not been addressed in the literature. The purpose of this study is to determine (1) if there are any age related changes in MUP amplitudes of the FDI of the foot that can be used for clinical analysis, and (2) to determine if there is an appropriate sampling methodology for the FDI muscle of the foot.
