Stimulation of the sciatic nerve generally requires needle electrodes because of the relatively inaccessible deep location of the nerve. Human magnetic stimulation of deep seated nerves such as sciatic nerve is feasible and effective with advantage of being noninvasive and painless. We compared magnetic stimulation with electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve and investigated the clinical usefulness of magnetic stimulation of the sciatic nerve. Thirty healthy adults were studied and the results were as follows: 1) The latencies of compound muscle action potential obtained with electrical stimulation and magnetic stimulation showed no significant difference in both peroneal and tibial component of sciatic nerve. 2) The amplitudes obtained with magnetic stimulation were significantly smaller than those obtained with electrical stimulation in both peroneal and tibial component of sciatic nerve. 3) the conduction velocities in gluteal to popliteal area segment showed no significant difference in both peroneal and tibial component of sciatic nerve. The use of magnetic stimulation may be a reasonable alternative to electrical stimulation in sciatic nerve conduction study, especially in unilateral lesion. But to make it more suitable for clinical use, further technical development increasing the focality of magnetic stimulation is desirable.
