You consume milk, cheese and other dairy products and you take calcium supplements daily. You exercise to keep your body fit and your bones strong. But how can you be sure you're keeping osteoporosis at bay? Your doctor might recommend an easy, painless, noninvasive bone density test to determine your bone strength. This test is called a bone densitometry.
About Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis, which means "porous bones," causes bones to become weak and brittle. Bone density is reduced, bone microarchitecture deteriorates and the protiens inside of the bone are altered. Osteoporosis has three levels of classifications, primary type 1, primary type 2 and secondary. In the United States, osteoporosis causes more than 1.5 million fractures a year.
Are you a candidate for Bone Density Testing?
A bone density test to screen for osteoporosis is recommended if:
- You are a woman age 65 or older
- You are 60 and at increased risk of osteoporosis
- You are a postmenopausal woman who has recently fractured a bone
- You are a younger postmenopausal woman with other risk factors for osteoporosis
The Test
My Ortho Team offers the DEXA scanner which is the most accurate test available. This bone densitometry test is noninvasive and painless. It takes less than 5 minutes. You lie on a padded platform while the imager passes over your body.
It is that simple!
Risk Factors for Osteoporosis
Your risk of osteoporosis increases if you are a woman and you are white. Other factors also increase your risk, including:
- A history of falls or bone fractures as a adult
- A history of fractures in a close adult relative, such as a mother, sister or aunt
- Smoking
- Early onset of menopause
- Alcoholism
- Low calcium and vitamin D intake
- Low body weight (< 120 lbs)
- Weight loss
- Not enough physical activity
- Late onset of your first menstrual cycle (menarche)
- Low estrogen levels
- Muscle weakness
- Caffeine intake
- A family history of osteoporosis
