DEXA (Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry) exams are one way to
help your physician tell if your bones have lost density,
and to what extent. When bones lose density, they lose
strength, become porous, brittle, and vulnerable to breaking
more easily. If this process reaches a certain measurable
point, it’s called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis can lead to
fractures in any bone, but the most important to your
overall quantity and quality of life are your spine and your
hips.
These are the factors that increase your risk for
osteoporosis:
● smoking,
● an inactive lifestyle, lacking in exercise,
● abusing alcohol,
● inadequate calcium intake,
● taking certain medicines (steroids and thyroid medicines),
● experienced early menopause or are post-menopausal,
● Caucasian (white-skinned) or Asian,
● or are of small build.
Both men and women can have osteoporosis and you do not have
to have all of these risks to develop osteoporosis.
For more information on Osteoporosis, see the
National
Osteoporosis Foundation web site. This site has much
good information written in a way that you can understand,
including tips for how to prevent osteoporosis, treat it,
and even how to dress fashionably if your posture is
affected by osteoporosis.
DEXA works much like an X-ray, sending a tiny amount of
radiation through your spine and hip. This amount of
radiation is about 1/20th the amount in a chest X-ray.
Denser areas of the bone will look different than less dense
areas so that the computer can analyze the status of your
bones.
Wear comfortable clothing without metal buckles, zippers or
buttons. Should you need to change clothes, we have gowns
available.
The technologist will check your height and weight, and ask
several questions about your family history of osteoporosis
and your current and previous health. We’ll ask about
results of previous osteoporosis screening, whether and when
you’ve fractured a bone or bones as an adult, what
medications you’ve been taking, and whether or not you are
menopausal.
The exam itself is completely painless, noninvasive and
safe, and takes ten to twenty minutes. For a DEXA scan of
your back and hips, you will be assisted in lying flat on
your back on the exam table. The DEXA machine will take
pictures of the lumbar spine and hips, and after the scan is
completed the computer will calculate your results. The
technologist will compose a report with the information from
your DEXA scan, the radiologist will review it, and a
printout will be sent to the ordering physician.
When your doctor orders your exam, you will be told how to
get your results. Your results should be in your hands
within a week. If it has been over a week and you have not
heard, do not assume everything is normal. SIRA
technologists are prevented from telling you the results of
your test. Call your physician's office for your results.
