Bone Density

What is a Bone Density test?
A bone density test, a non-invasive and painless test, is the best way to determine your bone health.  The test is similar to having an x-ray but uses mush less radiation.  The test can identify osteoporosis, determine your risk for fractures and monitor your response to an osteoporosis treatment.

Preparation
You will need to remove ALL body piercing for your test
Do Not take any bone prescription drugs the day of your test.
Do Not take any vitamin D the day of your test
Wear comfortable clothing that contains no metal; i.e. zippers, metal buttons, etc

During the Exam
You will lie on a flat padded table and remain motionless while the ‘arm’ of the instrument passes over the whole body or selected areas.  While the measurement is performed a beam of low dose x-rays from below the table passes through the area being measured.  These x-rays are detected by a device in the instruments arm.  The bone densitometry machine converts the information received by the detector into an image of the skeleton and analyzes the quantity of bone the skeleton contains.  It is important to remember that if you move while the measurement is taking place, errors can occur.  Typically each measurement requires less than a minute to perform

*If there is a chance of pregnancy you should inform the technologist.

Who Should Get a Bone Density Test?
A bone density test is recommended for those people:

• With one or more additional risk factors for osteoporotic fracture
• Who have had a fracture (broken bone); this test can help determine if osteoporosis was the underlying cause
• Who are age 65 and older
• Who are considering therapy for osteoporosis
• Who have been on hormone replacement therapy for a long time