What does arthiris in the back look like?

Depends on severity: Mild or early degenerative arthritis may not show any visible deformity. As it gets more severity, joint deformity will be more visible. Rheumatoid, when severe, can be quite disfiguring of the hands/arms etc.. It is often not obvious for back arthritis but can be seen by xray/ct etc...Your doc can show you your xray results--something like an xay picture here, as example. Good luck.