Bone Density

Bone is a living, growing tissue. Your body is constantly making new bone tissue and breaking down older bone. During your youth, bone growth is greater than bone loss. At some point as a young adult, you reach peak bone mass. After this point, bone loss slowly begins to outpace bone growth. Your bones naturally become less dense and weaker with age.

Osteoporosis ("porous bone") develops when bones deteriorate to the point where they become fragile and easily fractured. It is most common in post-menopausal women, but may also occur in men and in people who have certain diseases or take particular medications.

Measuring bone loss confirms the diagnosis of osteoporosis and determines the extent of changes to the bone. Determining the bone mass can also help in predicting the risk of future fracture. Bone Density Tests are safe, painless and non-invasive. These tests measure bone density--a measure on bone strength. We measures bone density at the hip, spine, or wrist areas where the most serious fractures occur.

If you decide to schedule a bone density test, we ask that on the day of your test, you wear comfortable clothing without metal fasteners. Be sure to let the technician doing your test know if you have a surgical device or implant such as hip replacement, pressary, or colostomy. You should not have a barium study or nuclear scan during the seven days prior to your bone density test.

After the results of your bone density test are in, the physician will use the test results to determine if you are at risk for a future fracture. Using this information, your physician will work with you to establish an individual preventative action plan. You may also want to take a look at a checklist we’ve developed about how to prevent bone loss and fractures.

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