Osteoarthritis Health Center

There is no single test used to diagnose osteoarthritis. For this reason, doctors use a combination of methods to diagnose the disease and rule out other conditions that could be causing a patient's symptoms. Most doctors use a combination of the following methods:

• Clinical history: The doctor will start by asking the patient to describe his or her symptoms, when and how those symptoms began and how they have changed over time. The doctor also will want to know if the patient has any other health problems, is taking any medications or has family members with any medical conditions. If your doctor is asking about your clinical history, it is important that you answer the questions accurately so that the doctor can make a proper diagnosis and understand how osteoarthritis is affecting your life.
• Physical examination: The doctor will examine the patient's reflexes, muscle strength and general health. The doctor also will look over any bothersome joints and assess the patient's ability to walk, bend and do day-to-day activities.
• X-rays: X-ray images can help doctors figure out which type of arthritis a person has and how much the joints have been damaged. Using  X-rays of arthritic joints, doctors can see cartilage loss, bone damage and bone spurs. But X-rays don't tell the whole story; there is often a big difference between how bad osteoarthritis appears on X-rays and how much pain and disability is felt by the patient. Also, X-ray images often don't show early signs of osteoarthritis.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): MRIs provide a high-resolution computerized view of the tissues inside the body. A doctor may use MRI to better diagnose arthritis if a patient has pain, if X-ray findings do not show much or if findings suggest there is damage to other joint tissues like a ligament or the meniscus (pad of connective tissue in the knee).
• Other tests: The doctor may use blood tests to rule out other conditions that might be causing symptoms. The doctor also may order a joint aspiration, a test in which fluid is drawn from the joint. The fluid sample might show bacteria, which would suggest that joint pain is the result of infection, or it might show uric acid crystals, which would suggest gout is to blame for joint pain.