Synopsis

Keywords: Musculoskeletal: Knee, Musculoskeletal: Joints, Cross-organ: Ageing

Osteoarthritis is both a disease involving structural damage of joint tissues and an illness, i.e., an individual’s experience of osteoarthritis, with pain being the predominant symptom. MRI has provided evidence that osteoarthritis is a disease of the whole joint manifested by structural damage of joint tissues. The etiology of osteoarthritis pain is complex, however, and multiple methods have been developed to assess pain in osteoarthritis. Evidence of the association of different MRI morphologic features of joint damage and knee pain will be reviewed, starting with a discussion of evidence from cross-sectional studies and continuing with evidence from longitudinal studies.