Specialty Services

Our physicians have a special interest in the treatment of chronic headaches. If you are concerned your headaches aren’t simply a headache, or are having ongoing headaches and want to explore treatment options, contact the Cape Girardeau Office to schedule a comprehensive headache evaluation. Our physicians follow the best evidence for treatment of chronic headaches and can help you regain control of your life. We understand the impact headaches can have on your life and work diligently to improve your quality of life. In preparation for your Complex Headache Clinic visit, please download these forms and keep a journal of your headache pattern.

Our clinic offers Botox (and other botulinum toxins) for a wide range of neurologic conditions including chronic migraine headaches, spasticity, dystonia, and hemifacial spasm. We use EMG guidance, when appropriate, to maximize the treatment effect and minimize repetitive needle sticks. If you are a patient who thinks you might benefit from therapeutic Botox, or have questions about it, contact the Cape Girardeau office for a comprehensive evaluation. Initial Botox evaluations can be performed in either the Cape office or at the Sikeston office. Botox is administered only in the Cape office at this time.

Do you or a loved one suffer from memory problems? A comprehensive memory test and evaluation by one of our board-certified neurologists can help you put your mind at ease, or give you the treatment you need. Basic cognitive consultations are performed at the Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, and Perryville locations. More comprehensive testing done by our technician is available only in the Cape Girardeau location.

At its core, NeuroTrax is about measuring and promoting brain fitness. Typically, NeuroTrax testing will allow our neurologists to assess cognitive deficits earlier in the disease state, before a patient’s disease has progressed too far. In order to measure each patient’s brain wellness, NeuroTrax applies a battery of tests, which map patient capabilities and results across seven cognitive areas:
1. Memory
2. Thinking (also known as executive function)
3. Attention
4. Visual-Spatial
5. Verbal Function
6. Problem-Solving
7. Working memory

Dr. Gardner Jr is the only neurologist in the region with experience in the initial evaluation and long-term management of patients with deep brain stimulation systems. He evaluates and treats patients with severe Parkinson’s Disease, Essential Tremor, and Dystonia with Deep Brain Stimulation. Dr. Gardner Jr is excited to partner with a local neurosurgeon to reintroduce this therapy option to the Southeast Missouri Region so that patients with these conditions are not required to travel long distances to get advanced neurologic care.

Your muscles move when nerve signals from the brain tell them to get to work. Electromyography measures how well your muscles respond to those signals. If the test detects a problem, you may be diagnosed with a neuromuscular disorder.

Nerve signals are electrical impulses that travel quickly throughout your nervous system. Sometimes, problems with the electrical activity in your nerves can cause pain, tingling, or weakness in your muscles. NCS measures how fast and how strong the electrical activity is in a nerve. The test can tell whether a nerve has been damaged.

It’s natural to have soreness or numbness in a muscle once in a while. You might strain a wrist muscle lifting something heavy, for example. For many people, though, a sore wrist is caused by an injured nerve, not an injured muscle. When it’s not clear why you’re having problems with your wrist, back, legs, or another body part, one or both of these tests may be helpful. The tests may be given to people who have the following symptoms that don’t go away: pain or cramping, tingling, numbness or muscle weakness.

Dr. Gardner Jr is board certified in Sleep Medicine and offers a variety of sleep testing. He has privileges to interpret comprehensive in-lab sleep studies at all facilities performed in Cape Girardeau and Sikeston, Missouri. He also offers Home Sleep Tests, as an innovative way to evaluate for sleep apnea at home. Contact the office to schedule a comprehensive sleep evaluation.

Have you had a stroke and still have questions? Neurologic Associates offers patients in your situation a comprehensive second look at your stroke and we will attempt to identify any treatable cause and reduce your risk of another stroke. To make your visit more efficient, please obtain all records of your stroke, and, in particular, please obtain copies of any diagnostic testing results (especially MRI, echocardiogram, carotid doppler). These images on CD are preferred, but if they cannot be obtained, please bring the reports. The results of any blood testing done while you were hospitalized would also be helpful.