Knee X-ray (standing, both knees)

This is a single front-on x-ray of both knees taken while you stand on them. Standing is the whole point: body weight squeezes the joint, so the cartilage gap that is left shows up at its true width instead of the falsely generous one seen lying down.

This explanation has not been reviewed by a person yet.

What it is

Cartilage does not show up on an x-ray. What a radiologist reads instead is the space between the bone ends, which is cartilage by inference — a wide gap means cartilage is filling it, a narrow one means it has worn away. That inference only works under load. On a table with the leg relaxed, the bones sit apart and a worn joint can look far better than it is. Standing on the knee closes the slack and lets the remaining cartilage be judged honestly.

This study is a front-on view — the beam passing from front to back with the patient upright — and it covers both knees. Both, because joint space is read comparatively: the difference between your two knees, and between the inner and outer compartment of each, carries more information than an absolute measurement of one. It is one view per knee, which makes it a quick and limited study; a knee being worked up for other reasons usually gets additional angles under a different code.

Why it is done

To assess wear in the knee joint and see which compartment — inner, outer — has lost the most cartilage
To document how a knee stands under load before a decision about injections, bracing or surgery
To show alignment: whether a leg has drifted bow-legged or knock-kneed as one side of the joint has collapsed
To compare the two knees, and to compare the same knee against earlier standing films

What to expect

No preparation. You will be asked to stand with bare knees against the imaging plate, feet placed in a specified position, weight evenly on both legs and knees straight — the positioning matters more here than in most x-rays, because the measurement is sensitive to it. You hold still for an instant per exposure. If standing on the knees is too painful to do properly, say so before the image is taken rather than shifting your weight during it, since a poorly weighted film cannot be compared with anything. The visit takes minutes.

Questions worth asking

Is this bilateral study billed as one charge, and how does that compare with a single-knee standing view if only one knee is symptomatic?
If the orthopedist later wants additional knee views, will those be a separate imaging charge on the same day?
Is the radiologist's reading fee included in the price I have been quoted, or billed separately?
Is this study being done in the orthopedist's own office or in a hospital radiology department, and does the price differ between them?

What Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) costs by state

Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Texas — 106 hospitals, median $491.70
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in California — 88 hospitals, median $248.29
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Florida — 73 hospitals, median $624.00
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Ohio — 66 hospitals, median $291.00
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Illinois — 51 hospitals, median $313.92
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Virginia — 42 hospitals, median $203.00
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Tennessee — 38 hospitals, median $71.10
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Washington — 32 hospitals, median $244.00
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Wisconsin — 32 hospitals, median $252.50
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Pennsylvania — 31 hospitals, median $237.60
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Michigan — 27 hospitals, median $279.00
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Indiana — 26 hospitals, median $208.80
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Georgia — 25 hospitals, median $201.63
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Iowa — 25 hospitals, median $218.40
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Arizona — 23 hospitals, median $122.76
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Kentucky — 21 hospitals, median $418.20
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Missouri — 21 hospitals, median $203.50
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in New Jersey — 21 hospitals, median $95.13
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in New York — 21 hospitals, median $104.19
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Minnesota — 19 hospitals, median $220.00
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Colorado — 17 hospitals, median $1,342.52
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Oklahoma — 16 hospitals, median $174.85
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in North Carolina — 15 hospitals, median $433.25
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Nebraska — 13 hospitals, median $127.42
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Oregon — 13 hospitals, median $197.25
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in West Virginia — 13 hospitals, median $199.50
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Arkansas — 11 hospitals, median $204.75
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Kansas — 11 hospitals, median $509.73
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Mississippi — 10 hospitals, median $86.08
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in South Carolina — 10 hospitals, median $239.50
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $384.60
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in South Dakota — 7 hospitals, median $308.00
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Alaska — 5 hospitals, median $389.22
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in North Dakota — 4 hospitals, median $212.00
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Hawaii — 2 hospitals, median $118.08
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Maryland — 2 hospitals, median $142.80
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Montana — 2 hospitals, median $153.60
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in New Mexico — 2 hospitals, median $211.68
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Wyoming — 2 hospitals, median $87.78
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Louisiana — 1 hospitals, median $144.30
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in Nevada — 1 hospitals, median $248.17
Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $460.70

Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) prices at hospitals

See every published price for Knee X-ray (standing, both knees): the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.

Knee X-ray (standing, both knees) cost — see all prices →

Sources

AAOS OrthoInfo: Arthritis of the Knee (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
RadiologyInfo (RSNA/ACR): X-ray (Radiography) - Bone (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)

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