Finding the right tests…
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Finding the right tests…
MRI
This catalogue entry covers a general MRI of one joint, rather than naming a specific joint like the knee or shoulder - the actual body part gets confirmed with your doctor or the centre when you book. What stays constant across joints is what MRI adds over a plain X-ray: X-rays show bone well but miss soft tissue, while MRI images ligaments, cartilage, tendons, and joint fluid in detail. Doctors reach for a single-joint MRI like this when pain, swelling, or reduced movement in one joint needs a closer look than an X-ray can give, and a ligament, cartilage, or tendon injury is suspected. There's no radiation involved, since the scan relies on magnets and radio waves.
This is a general single-joint MRI entry - the specific joint imaged depends on what your doctor has ordered. It typically shows the ligaments, cartilage, tendons, and joint fluid at that site, helping identify soft-tissue injury that an X-ray alone can't show.
Unlike a scan named for a specific joint - the knee or shoulder, for instance - this entry is a general, unspecified single-joint MRI. Which joint gets scanned depends on what your doctor has written on the request, and it's worth confirming the exact joint with your doctor or the centre before your appointment.
X-rays are good at showing bone, but they don't image ligaments, cartilage, tendons, or the fluid inside a joint - soft tissue that often explains ongoing joint pain even when bones look normal. MRI fills that gap, since it images soft tissue in detail without using radiation.
- Persistent pain or swelling in one joint without a clear cause on X-ray - Suspected ligament, tendon, or cartilage injury - Reduced range of motion that needs a closer look - Follow-up after an injury that hasn't improved as expected
Since this line item doesn't specify the joint, confirm with your doctor exactly which joint is being imaged and why, so the scan is booked correctly.
This catalogue entry is a general single-joint MRI, not tied to a named joint like the knee or shoulder. Confirm with your doctor or the centre exactly which joint is being imaged before your appointment.
It's listed as a general catalogue item covering any single joint, rather than a separate line for each one. Your doctor's request determines which joint actually gets scanned.
MRI images ligaments, cartilage, tendons, and joint fluid in detail, none of which show up clearly on a plain X-ray. That's why it's often used when joint pain continues despite a normal X-ray.
No. MRI uses magnets and radio waves, not X-rays, so there's no radiation exposure.
This page is general information about the test, not medical advice. Your own report's reference ranges apply — please discuss your results with your doctor.
Not typically for a standard joint MRI. Ask your doctor whether contrast applies to your specific situation.
That depends on which joint is affected and what your doctor suspects. Confirm with your doctor which named scan - knee, shoulder, or another joint - actually applies before booking.
Preparation generally means removing metal jewelry and similar items before the scan. Ask your doctor or the centre about anything specific to you.