Position the patient so the knee of interest is as close to the center of the table, left to right, as possible. Rotation of the knee is allowed up to 20 degrees to make the patient comfortable.
For a knee MRI, you'll go in feet first, and only your lower body will be in the tube. Expect to hold still for around 15 to 45 minutes, sometimes longer, while the machine makes images of your knee.
The MRI of the knee requires you to lay down on the scanning table, feet first.
Specifically for a knee MRI, you will likely go in feet first and can generally expect the lower half of your body to be inside of the tube. It is important to anticipate the scan taking between 30 and 90 minutes depending on the types of scans and images requested by your doctor.
What should I wear? You will be asked to remove any clothing containing metal and all jewelry. You will be provided metal free clothing to change into such as a gown, shorts or pants.
What Can You Expect? Full body MRIs can cause some patients to experience feelings of claustrophobia. During a knee MRI, only part of the body enters the scanner tube, yet patients can experience symptoms of claustrophobia. Please make your doctor aware of your claustrophobia prior to scheduling your MRI.
The Upright MRI is the only MRI scanner that can image patients in any position, whether it's sitting, standing, bending or lying down. This allows it to image any part of the body. All other MRIs can only scan patients while laying down.
MRI gives a good picture of the size of a meniscus tear and where it is. It also shows ligaments, cartilage, and tendons. MRIs of the knee are helpful to identify a meniscus tear and to find any related injuries to the ligament, cartilage, and tendons.
Radial tears and meniscal root tears are easily overlooked on MR as they are often visible on a single image only and are the exception to the often-used two-slice touch rule (Fig. 8) [22, 23]. These tend to be degenerative in origin in the medial meniscus and trauma-related in the lateral meniscus [22].
Be sure to wear clothing that does not have any metal in it (zippers, buttons, etc.). If your clothes do have metal in them, you'll be given a hospital gown to change into for your scan. Normally you can wear your underwear and socks during the scan, unless your radiologist is concerned about metal microfibers.
MRI scans are very useful for diagnosing arthritis. They can provide detailed images of the joint and surrounding tissues. These images help doctors to make a diagnosis and assess the severity of the condition. Getting an MRI scan for arthritis is generally a safe procedure.
Depending on which part of your body is being scanned, you may need to wear a hospital gown during the procedure. If you don't need to wear a gown, you should wear clothes without metal zips, fasteners, buttons, underwire (bras), belts or buckles.
The radiologist may discuss early results of the MRI with you right after the test. Complete results are usually ready for your doctor in 1 to 2 days. Normal: The ligaments, meniscus, tendons, bones, and joints look normal in size, shape, and location.
How does having an MRI of the knee feel? You won't have pain from the magnetic field or radio waves used for the MRI test. But you may be tired or sore from lying in one position for a long time. If a contrast material is used, you may feel some coolness when it is put into your IV.
Individuals with a meniscus tear often complain of pain along the joint line. They often have pain or weakness with bending the knee and sometimes they have a catching or locking sensation. With an acute tear, individuals may notice a lot of swelling in the knee and often report that they heard or felt a pop.
When not properly accommodated during an MRI, claustrophobic patients may experience panic attacks, which can bring on increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, chills, sweating, and other distressing symptoms. Claustrophobia is a very common condition, affecting as much as 5% of the population.
In most cases, a family member or friend may enter the MRI room with you and stay with you throughout your exam. If the situation allows, they may even hold your hand or pat you on the knees so that you know that they are there with you.
The white area is increased water content in the fat pad and this means inflammation. The inflammation is caused by the late engagement of the patella in the trochlear groove. This is due to a high riding Patella. The patella will first engage into the trochlea area when the knee is flexed several degrees.
Generally, MRIs under anesthesia are performed under sedation, although sometimes they are performed under general anesthesia. Sedation is characterized as being in a state between relaxed and very sleepy, but not quite unconscious.