When joint pain, stiffness and inflammation affect your everyday life, you want to find fast, accurate answers so appropriate treatment can begin. Your primary care physician will likely perform a physical exam and order blood tests to look for signs of rheumatoid arthritis, gout, infection and other possible problems.
Blood tests can reveal a lot, but they’re not always 100% accurate. A blood test alone can’t always confirm or rule out rheumatoid arthritis, and it can’t be used to accurately diagnose the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis, which is caused by a wearing away of the cartilage between the bones of the joints. Common as people get older, osteoarthritis can produce any or all of the following symptoms: joint pain, swelling, stiffness, tenderness, diminished flexibility, grinding, catching, bone spurs and redness. Other diseases can also cause many of these symptoms, so a correct diagnosis is crucial to getting optimal relief, as treatment plans vary by cause. Imaging modalities can help isolate not only the type of arthritis you have, but also the source of pain, which may be in a different spot from the place(s) where soreness is felt, called referred pain.
RAO offers a range of state-of-the-art imaging services to help pinpoint the type and origin of an arthritic condition. Our imaging tests include:
Fluoroscopy (x-ray) – The most widely used imaging test, fluoroscopy is quick, painless and often provides answers in just minutes.
MRI – Magnetic resonance imaging uses a powerful magnet and radio waves to provide highly detailed images of joints and surrounding tissues without exposure to ionizing radiation. RAO’s advanced high-field MRI is one of the most powerful in the region, for exceptional detail.
DEXA – DEXA bone density testing is a quick, simple, pain-free test that measures bone mineral density, revealing bone status and risk of fracture. It provides valuable information about bone health, including arthritis related to osteoporosis, with an extremely low level of radiation.
Getting an accurate diagnosis of what type of arthritis you have and the origin of pain and stiffness is an important step toward the right treatment and subsequent relief. If you have joint pain that is interrupting your quality of life, talk to your clinician about arthritis testing at RAO.
