If you’re experiencing joint pain, tenderness or stiffness, you may be worried about arthritis. An MRI scan can detect the early signs of arthritis, making your treatment more effective and slowing down the condition's progression.

We’ll guide you through the different types of arthritis, how an MRI scan works to identify arthritis and how MRI can be used on different areas of the body most affected by the condition.

What types of arthritis are there?

There are over 100 different types of arthritis, and it can affect people of all ages, including children. Here are some of the most common types of arthritis:

Osteoarthritis (OA):

Around ten million people in the UK have this form of arthritis. It’s a degenerative joint disease that wears down the cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones. Symptoms to look out for include:

Joint pain and stiffness.
Swelling and tenderness around the joints.
Loss of flexibility and limited range of movement.
Grating or crackling sound when moving the affected joint.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA):

An estimated 450,000 people in the UK have RA, an autoimmune disorder in which your body's immune system attacks tissues, primarily in the joints. An MRI scan for rheumatoid arthritis can show signs of this. Symptoms include:

Joint pain, swelling, and stiffness, especially in the morning or after you’ve been inactive for a while.
Tiredness and fever.
Unusual symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include loss of appetite, dry mouth and eyes, and numbness or tingling in the hands and feet.

Psoriatic arthritis:

Around 190,000 people in the UK have psoriatic arthritis, which is a type of inflammatory arthritis that affects some people with psoriasis. Symptoms to look out for include:

Joint pain, swelling, and stiffness.
Changes to the nails, such as pitting, ridging, or discolouration.
Enthesitis (an inflammation where the tendons and ligaments attach to the bones).
Dactylitis (a sausage-like swelling of the fingers or toes).

Other types of arthritis include:

Gout: An inflammatory arthritis caused by the buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints. Symptoms include sudden, severe joint pain, swelling, and redness, often affecting the big toe.
Ankylosing spondylitis: An inflammatory arthritis that usually affects the spine and sacroiliac joints in the pelvis and lower spine. Symptoms may include low back pain, stiffness, and loss of flexibility in the spine.
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA): A group of autoimmune disorders that cause joint inflammation in children under 16. Symptoms may include joint pain, swelling, stiffness, and limping.

What are the main symptoms of arthritis?

Symptoms can vary depending on the type of arthritis you have and which of your joints are affected. They can also develop very gradually in the early stages of arthritis, making them easy to dismiss at first.

Common symptoms include:

joint pain
tenderness
swelling
stiffness, especially in the morning
soft tissue swelling
warmth around the affected joint
a feeling of pressure in the joint (joint effusion caused by a buildup of fluid)

Inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory joint diseases often cause symmetrical symptoms in the small joints of the hands, wrists and feet (including the proximal joints).

As arthritis progresses, you might notice symptoms, such as reduced range of motion, ongoing joint pain, or increased tiredness. More severe symptoms can sometimes develop, such as visible joint deformity or nerve-related symptoms. However, these are far less common and usually develop quite slowly.

In certain types of arthritis, particularly when the neck (cervical spine) is affected, nerve compression can cause tingling or weakness, but early diagnosis and treatment can significantly reduce your risk.

How is arthritis diagnosed?

Diagnosing arthritis often involves a combination of physical examinations, tests and scans to rule out other rheumatic diseases.

Your doctor will ask about your symptoms, such as when they started, how long they last, and whether they improve with movement or rest. They’ll also ask about your age, family history, previous injuries, and any underlying conditions that could be linked. They’ll also check your range of motion and assess your joints for any swelling, warmth, or tenderness.
Blood tests can help identify inflammatory markers and autoimmune activity. Your doctor will use them to help diagnose types of inflammatory arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis. While no single blood test can diagnose arthritis, some markers, such as anti-CCP antibodies, can help identify rheumatoid arthritis, especially if your symptoms line up.
An X-ray is often the first scan your doctor will recommend, because it can show joint space narrowing, bony erosions, and bone spurs - each of which can be signs of arthritis. However, X-rays are less sensitive in the early stages of the condition, and it’s possible to miss early inflammation.
MRI provides detailed images of the joint, including bone, cartilage and soft tissues. It can detect early inflammatory changes, bone marrow oedema (fluid build-up), articular cartilage damage, and synovial thickening (swelling of the joint’s membrane), often long before these changes appear on X-ray.
Ultrasound is useful for assessing synovial fluid, synovial tissue, and active inflammation in joints close to the skin, such as the hands and wrists.
CT scans provide very detailed images of bone and may be used when there’s a concern about bone destruction or complex structural changes, particularly in the spine.
Your doctor might offer you an arthrocentesis if you have painful joint swelling, for example, in your knee, hip or ankle. Arthrocentesis is a straightforward procedure in which a doctor uses a thin needle to withdraw synovial fluid from your joint to relieve joint pressure.
Tracking your symptoms over time helps your doctor understand the pattern of your arthritis, especially if it fluctuates. They can also monitor how well you respond to treatment.

If your doctor thinks you have inflammatory arthritis, they may refer you to a rheumatologist for expert care and access to targeted treatments. A rheumatologist can also refer you for clinical trials for new therapies.

What are the causes of arthritis?

Arthritis isn’t just one condition - it’s a group of related conditions that can affect joints in different ways. Early osteoarthritis is most often linked to everyday wear and tear, where the smooth articular cartilage that cushions the joint gradually thins. This puts extra pressure on the subchondral bone, which is the layer of bone just underneath the cartilage, and can lead to pain or stiffness over time.

Inflammatory forms of arthritis can be caused by your immune system mistakenly attacking its own synovial lining and joint tissues. Infection, crystal deposition, trauma, and metabolic disease can also trigger arthritis.

Risk factors like your lifestyle, genetics, previous injury, obesity and joint strain can all increase your chances of developing arthritis, but having one or more risk factors doesn’t mean you’ll definitely develop the condition.

What is an MRI, and how does it work?

MRI scans use strong magnetic fields and radio waves to create detailed 3D images of organs and tissues.

The magnets first align water molecules within your body and then use radio waves to disturb this alignment. As the molecules realign, they emit location signals that the machine detects, and a computer translates them into a highly detailed picture.

An MRI continues to do this, slice by slice, until a clear and sharp image of your body, or part of your body, is formed.

Does an MRI show arthritis?

Yes, an MRI scan for arthritis is very effective at showing early signs of inflammation and damage, which can help a clinician to diagnose the condition. It can show detailed images of your joints, bones, and surrounding soft tissues, all of which can be affected by arthritis.

Can you see arthritis on an MRI?

An MRI scan can show inflammation, cartilage damage, bone wear and tear, and other signs associated with different types of arthritis. If you’re wondering what colour is inflammation on an MRI, it’s usually mid to dark-grey.

Here’s more detailed information on how a scan for arthritis might look, depending on what type of arthritis you have:

Can you see osteoarthritis on an MRI?

On an MRI, early signs of osteoarthritis often appear in the cartilage that cushions and protects the ends of your bones. Healthy cartilage is smooth and whitish-grey on an MRI. As osteoarthritis develops, the cartilage starts to wear away. Instead of looking smooth, it may appear pitted, ragged, and thinned out in areas. These damaged spots will also look darker.

MRIs can also detect other osteoarthritis-related changes around the joint. Flakes of cartilage or bone can break off and float around in the joint fluid - appearing as black dots. There may also be clear swelling and inflammation of tissues around the joint, which will be grey. Later, bone spurs or cysts may form, showing up as darker spots on the images.

Does MRI show rheumatoid arthritis?

A rheumatoid arthritis MRI can show inflammation of the synovial membrane which lines and protects your joints. Inflammation of this membrane is one of the key signs of rheumatoid arthritis. It may look thickened and grey, sometimes with areas of dark swelling.

An MRI scan for rheumatoid arthritis can also detect damage to bone and cartilage, showing up any bone with pits and holes and thin and uneven cartilage. This damage will appear dark grey on the scan image. As with OA, swelling and inflammation around the joints and tissues will appear grey.

What does inflammation look like on an MRI for psoriatic arthritis?

An MRI can detect early signs of inflammation in the tendons, ligaments, and soft tissues surrounding your joints. Inflammation will appear swollen, thickened and grey compared to healthier, darker tissues. As the condition progresses, inflammation of the synovial membrane will look like a thick grey line, and pitted areas will show where the bone has eroded. Cartilage damage will look like uneven dark patches on the MRI scan.

On which areas of the body can you get a scan for arthritis?

While a whole-body MRI scan can help to detect the spread of inflammatory arthritis, there are some key areas where an MRI can be really useful for detecting and monitoring the condition.

Knees: A knee MRI can give a much more detailed picture of changes in arthritic joints, such as the knees, than X-rays can. They can show early, subtle changes and inflammation, too.
Spine: A spine MRI can allow your clinician to look carefully at the discs, nerve roots and joints in your spine to see if any damage is caused by degenerative or inflammatory spinal arthritis.
Hips: A hip MRI can help identify cartilage loss, a build-up of fluid, swelling and tendon damage, all of which can be signs of hip arthritis.
Hands and feet: A foot and ankle MRI can closely examine the small joints and bones within these areas of the body. Gout is often found in the big toe and is caused by a uric acid crystal build-up, which MRI can clearly visualise. The scan can also reveal cartilage, tendon and joint damage, and bone erosions caused by gout.

MRI scans are useful for spotting and monitoring different kinds of arthritis. They help clinicians find problems early, which helps them to plan the best treatment.

By showing symptoms like swelling, damaged cartilage, and other signs of arthritis clearly, MRI scans help doctors understand what's going on with your joints and bones, leading to better results.

Why is an MRI a good option?

If you’re experiencing ongoing joint pain or stiffness, an MRI scan can help provide clearer answers. It’s particularly useful in the early stages of arthritis, when your symptoms may be subtle, but early treatment can have a positive effect.

MRI gives your doctor a detailed view of your joints, helping them understand what’s causing your symptoms without using radiation.

An MRI can also help to explain symptoms, rule out other causes of pain, and offer you a clearer plan for managing your joint health.

How to get a private MRI scan for arthritis

Get your health back on track today and book a private MRI scan for arthritis near you with Scan.com. We can help you skip NHS waiting lists and fast-track your diagnosis and treatment without a GP referral.

You’ll speak to an expert clinical consultant within days at a flexible appointment time that suits you. Choose from over 150 centres nationwide and get fast online results, including a digital imaging report.

FAQs

How long does an MRI for arthritis last?

An MRI scan for arthritis usually takes around 30 to 60 minutes, though the exact time can vary. It depends on which joint is being scanned, how detailed the images need to be, and whether a contrast dye is used. Your clinical team will talk you through what to expect beforehand and help make the scan as comfortable as possible.

Can my symptoms be a sign of a different condition?

Joint pain and stiffness aren’t always caused by arthritis. There may be other causes of your symptoms, such as injury, infection, or nerve-related problems. MRI imaging and test results help build a clearer picture and guide the right next steps.

Sources:

Arthritis. (2022). https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/arthritis/

Can an MRI Be Used to Diagnose Arthritis? Photo Gallery and More. (2017). https://www.healthline.com/health/osteoarthritis/what-does-arthritis-look-like-on-an-mri

Li Shuangshuang , Xu Guanhua , Liang Junyu , Wan Liyan , Cao Heng , Lin Jin. (2022). The Role of Advanced Imaging in Gout Management. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.811323/full

MRI. (N.D.) https://www.arthritisaction.org.uk/living-with-arthritis/mri/

Sudoł-Szopińska I, Jans L, Teh J. (2017). Rheumatoid arthritis: what do MRI and ultrasound show? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5392548/

The state of musculoskeletal health. (2023). https://versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/data-and-statistics/the-state-of-musculoskeletal-health

What does arthritis look like on an MRI? (2020). https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-does-arthritis-look-like-on-an-mri