Chiropractor did emg scan of my husband and diagnosed osteoarthritis of neck. how reliable is emg?

Good if done right: Emg detects the proper function of a muscle and is useful for muscle and nerve dysfunction related to the muscle. It is not used for the diagnosis of osteoarthritis, and is therefore unreliable for this condition. Chiropractors are not trained in EMG use which properly belongs to neurologists. You should see a neurologist for dysfunction affecting an emg.

Likely unreliable: What was probably done was surface EMG and this is not reliable and does not identify osteoarthritis. There are two types of doctors trained in needle EMG 1) physical medicine/rehabilitation md's and 2) neurologists. For pmr md's it is a core part of their training; for neurologists it is not a core part of training in all neurology residency programs.

Unlikely : Emgs are used to diagnose diseases of the nerves and muscle. For a diagnosis of osteoarthritis x-rays are necessary.