To obtain insight in the aetiology of deep pressure sores, understanding is required of the relationship between prolonged transverse loading and local muscle damage. To date, the amount and location of muscle damage were determined by histological examination. In the present study we determined whether T2-weighted high-resolution MRI can also be applied to evaluate muscle tissue after prolonged transverse loading. The tibialis anterior muscle and overlying skin in the right hind limbs of five rats were compressed between an indentor and the tibia. The in vivo MR images of the loaded and contralateral hind limbs were obtained 24 hours after load application. The tibialis anterior muscles were then processed for histological examination. In the MR images of all five loaded hind limbs signal intensity appeared higher in the loaded regions of the muscle as compared to the unloaded regions. The location of the higher signal intensity coincided with the location of damage assessed from histology. Also the amount of damage determined with MRI was in good agreement with the amount of damage assessed from histological examination. Because MRI is non-destructive, it is a promising alternative for histology in research on pressure sore aetiology, especially in follow-up studies to evaluate the development of muscle damage in time and in clinical studies.