Bone Density Testing
Are you postmenopausal or a man over 50? Have you recently experienced a broken bone? If the answer is "yes" to both of these questions, you should tell your Doctor or other healthcare provider so they may order a bone density test for you if you have never had one.
Bone density testing is the best way to diagnose osteoporosis and hopefully prevent a broken bone before it occurs. We perform this test to evaluate the density of your bones so that we may plan a course of treatment. Our office uses the Discovery QDR series bone density machine because it's the most up to date technology and extremely accurate.
What Bone Density Testing Can Do
It can accurately report if your bone density is normal, low (osteopenia) or osteoporosis. It is actually the only test that can diagnose osteoporosis. You are at greater risk of breaking a bone if your bone density is very low. Other benefits of bone density testing include:
- predicting your chance of breaking a bone in the future
- monitoring your bone density to evaluate if it is improving, worsening or staying the same
- finding out how well an osteoporosis medicine you have been prescribed is working