Arthritis
What is arthritis?
Arthritis means inflammation of a joint. It can affect and damage of one or more joints in the body. A joint is an area where two or more bones make contact and move against each other. The underlying cause varies with specific types of arthritis. While there are over 100 forms of arthritis, the two most common types are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease, is caused in part by degeneration of parts of the joint such as cartilage and increases with age. The increasing wear and breakdown on parts of the affected joint can result in reactive inflammation. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), on the other hand, is an autoimmune disease where the body’s own defenses attack the normal joint lining. In this type of arthritis, the inflammation of the lining of the joint develops first and over time damages the component parts of the joint. Other relatively common causes of arthritis include trauma, abnormal limb alignment, infections, autoimmune conditions other than rheumatoid arthritis and abnormal deposits in the joints, such as in gout.
Some type of arthritis affects over 40 million people in the United States. More than half of those people have degenerative joint disease. Almost 60 percent of those affected by arthritis are women. While arthritis mainly occurs in adults, children can be at risk of certain types of arthritis such as those caused from injury and autoimmune diseases. Although any joint in the body can be affected, particular forms of arthritis have a tendency to occur in certain parts of the body. For example, rheumatoid arthritis commonly affects the wrists and knuckles, feet, neck, and larger joints in the limbs while degenerative joint disorder may affect the thumb bases, finger joints, knees, hips, shoulders, and lower spine.
Symptoms of arthritis include:
- Joint pain, stiffness, swelling or effusion (fluid building up in the joint)
- Limited range of motion in the joint or spine
- Tenderness and redness of skin around the joint
- Joint catching or locking
How is arthritis evaluated?
When diagnosing arthritis, your doctor will likely do a complete physical examination of your entire body, including your spine, joints, skin and eyes. Blood tests to look for inflammation are often performed. In cases where an infection or gout is suspected, it may be useful to draw some fluid from a joint with a needle in order to analyze the contents of the material. In addition, your physician may order one or more of the following imaging tests:
- Bone x-ray (radiography) (www.radiologyresource.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bonerad): A bone x-ray produces images of one or more bones within the body, including the hand, wrist, arm, elbow, shoulder, foot, ankle, leg (shin), knee, thigh, hip, pelvis or spine. X-rays show the bones and the way they interact with each other at the joints. It is useful to evaluate the amount of cartilage at the ends of the bones, deformities and underlying conditions in the bones that may lead to arthritis, and changes in the bones that may be damage from arthritis.
- Body computed tomography (CT) (www.radiologyresource.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodyct): CT scanning combines special x-ray equipment with sophisticated computers to produce multiple images of the inside of the body. For people with arthritis, CT is typically used for examining joints that are deep in the body and difficult to assess with conventional x-ray.
- Musculoskeletal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (www.radiologyresource.org/en/info.cfm?pg=muscmr): MRI uses a powerful magnetic field, radio frequency pulses and a computer to produce detailed pictures of the body. The advantage of MRI is that it shows both the bones and the surrounding tissues – including cartilage, ligaments and the inner lining of the joints. MRI is frequently used to discover abnormalities in the soft tissue components of joints (which are invisible on x-ray), to determine whether treatment is helping the disease and look for complications of the disease.
- Musculoskeletal ultrasound (www.radiologyresource.org/en/info.cfm?pg=musculous): Ultrasound involves the use of a small transducer (probe) and ultrasound gel to examine the body with high-frequency sound waves. It can provide detailed pictures of the joints and surrounding soft tissues, primarily those that are located near the surface of the body.
How is arthritis treated?
Treatment for arthritis depends on the type, severity and location of the disorder. Common treatments include:
- Medication: Both prescription and non-prescription medications that can reduce joint inflammation and pain are available.
- Therapy: Physical therapy and exercise can improve the range of motion and flexibility while improve muscle and bone strength. Other options include massages, water therapy or orthotics.
- Surgery: Surgery such as joint replacement (arthroplasty) or joint fusion may be the best treatment option for some patients.
Locate an ACR-accredited provider: To locate a medical imaging or radiation oncology provider in your community, you can search the ACR-accredited facilities database.
This website does not provide costs for exams. The costs for specific medical imaging tests and treatments vary widely across geographic regions. Many—but not all—imaging procedures are covered by insurance. Discuss the fees associated with your medical imaging procedure with your doctor and/or the medical facility staff to get a better understanding of the portions covered by insurance and the possible charges that you will incur.
Web page review process: This Web page is reviewed regularly by a physician with expertise in the medical area presented and is further reviewed by committees from the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), comprising physicians with expertise in several radiologic areas.
Outside links: For the convenience of our users, RadiologyInfo.org provides links to relevant websites. RadiologyInfo.org, ACR and RSNA are not responsible for the content contained on the web pages found at these links.
Images: Images are shown for illustrative purposes. Do not attempt to draw conclusions or make diagnoses by comparing these images to other medical images, particularly your own. Only qualified physicians should interpret images; the radiologist is the physician expert trained in medical imaging.
This page was reviewed on March 04, 2013
