About Your Exam

What is bone densitometry?
The best way to detect osteoporosis is to measure bone density using a special x-ray called DEXA, which stands for dual x-ray absorptiometry. DEXA will give your physician an accurate measurement of the amount of bone. This measurement is called your bone mineral density.

This test will allow your physician to determine whether you have osteoporosis before a fracture can occur or measure your progress if you have already been diagnosed with osteoporosis.

There are no special preparations for your DEXA. You may eat and drink as normal and take your medications, however, Bone Densitometry should be delayed for a period of 7 days after the performance of any procedure utilizing barium sulfate or radio-nuclear isotopes. It should also be delayed for 3 days after the performance of a lumbar myleogram.

During the Exam
You may be asked to have an x-ray of your spine for comparison with the DEXA. Before the DEXA, you may be asked to change into an examination gown. If you wear a comfortable two-piece outfit, you may not have to change.

You will lie on the table and a technologist with special training in DEXA will position you and take pictures of your hip and spine. She will review the images it produces on a computer screen. She will take these images to the radiologist for review.

Your DEXA images will be compared to an individual of the same age and race with healthy bone mass. The radiologist will review them and prepare a report for your physician.

You may be asked by your physician to have a follow up DEXA every one or two years to measure your progress.

What is osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and are more likely to break. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress without symptoms until a bone breaks. These broken bones, also known as fractures, usually occur in the hip, spine and wrist.

Serious fractures can require hospitalization and major surgery. A serious fracture can impair a person's ability to walk and can cause severe back pain, loss of height, and deformity.

There is no single cause for osteoporosis. The health of a person's bones is the result of many things, including how well the bones were formed when you were young, the amount of exercise throughout your life, your diet and lifestyle habits.

Women are four times more likely than men to develop the disease, but men also suffer from osteoporosis. There are many new treatments available for osteoporosis.