A physician at Back Pain STL decides whether you need this test and orders it. You only have it if it is ordered for you.

What is it?

Cuffs wrap your arms and ankles, small sensors clip onto your fingers, and your hands and feet rest on metal plates. No needles are used. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes.

Why does it matter for back pain?

Discs are fed by tiny blood vessels at their edges. When those vessels are damaged by high blood sugar or poor circulation, a disc loses its supply line. Leg pain with walking can also come from blocked leg arteries rather than from the spine.

The CMAT looks for three problems: poor circulation reaching the legs, harm to the small nerve fibers that control sweating, and a nervous system that is stuck in fight-or-flight. Those results help your physician see the whole picture behind a back that will not settle.

What does it feel like?

Cuffs squeezing like a blood pressure check and cool metal plates under your hands and feet. Nothing hurts.

How do you get ready?

Choose clothes that leave your upper arms and ankles easy to reach, and hold off on caffeine and nicotine for a few hours.

What should you tell us first?

• Before test day, tell us about a pacemaker or a pregnancy

More on this site: metabolic health and back pain, spinal stenosis and walking pain.

Other tests in the program

• EMG nerve test of the leg
• Kinetisense
• RQ breathing test

This page is part of our physiotherapy program for back pain, where a physician orders, supervises and re-checks every step.