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Bone density scan5/4/2023 The detector has a long, thin ‘arm’, which will pass up and down the area being tested – usually your hips or spine. It sends out invisible beams of radiation, which pass through your bones to a detector that’s positioned above your body. The X-ray machine will be underneath you. The table is open, so you won’t be enclosed in any way (in a tunnel, for example). Your health professional will ask you to lie on your back on a padded table during the scan. But you’ll need to allow longer for your appointment because you may need other tests too. The scan itself will usually take between 10 and 20 minutes. They will also usually measure your height and weight. if there’s any possibility you may be pregnant.if you’ve had any other scans recently that involved contrast or nuclear medicine (because these can affect the results of your DEXA scan).When you arrive at the hospital, they will run through some questions with you. Your scan may be done by a radiographer (a health professional trained to perform imaging procedures), a DEXA technician or a specially trained nurse. Follow any instructions that your hospital gives you. Your hospital team may ask you to change into a hospital gown. You’ll need to take any keys and wallets out of your pockets and remove any other metal objects such as glasses, piercings or dental appliances. Metal buttons, zips or jewellery could show up on the scan. You may be able to stay fully dressed during the scan if you’re not wearing anything metal. Your hospital will tell you what to wear for a DEXA scan. You don’t usually need to do anything before a DEXA scan. You will usually have a DEXA scan at an outpatient clinic in your local hospital so you can have the scan and go home the same day. If your risk is within a certain level, your doctor will advise you to have a DEXA scan. The tools predict how likely it is that you’ll have a fracture due to osteoporosis in the next 10 years. This is because these factors also affect your bone density. The calculation also includes lifestyle factors such as whether or not you smoke, and how much alcohol you drink. These take into account things that might increase your risk, including your medical history, age, sex, height, weight, and any medicines you take. Your doctor will use online tools to calculate your fracture risk. if you’re a young woman who has had a number of stress fractures (a fracture caused by repeated stress on your bone).because you’ve previously had a fragility fracture.at an earlier age, if you have certain risk factors – for instance, if you have a low body mass index (BMI) or if you’re taking steroid tablets.when you reach a certain age – this can vary between areas and practices, but is usually 65 and over for women and 75 and over for men.Your doctor may ask you to have a fracture risk assessment: A fragility fracture is when your bones become weakened due to osteoporosis, so that even a minor bump or fall can cause them to break. You’ll usually only be invited to have a DEXA scan if your doctor has assessed you as being at risk of fragility fractures. Arrangements vary at different hospitals, so check what your hospital or clinic’s procedures are. But, if this is the case, a qualified health professional will need to authorise it. You may be able to get a DEXA scan at a private hospital or clinic without a referral from your GP. Your GP or other health professional will need to refer you for a DEXA scan on the NHS. You will normally have a DEXA scan at your local hospital. But it may give your doctor an idea of whether or not you need to have a full DEXA scan or other tests. It can help to predict your risk of having another fracture but it’s not as good as a standard DEXA scan. This uses a smaller, portable machine that can measure bone density in your wrist, heel or ankle. This is because your spine and hip are two of the most common places to break bones if you have osteoporosis.Īnother type of DEXA scan is a peripheral DEXA scan. This, plus a fracture risk assessment, is used to predict how likely you are to have a fracture (broken bone) from osteoporosis.Ī DEXA scan of your hip and spine is the ‘gold standard’ to diagnose osteoporosis and to predict your risk of breaking a bone. It detects how much radiation is absorbed by your bones, which shows how dense they are. A DEXA scan, also known as a DXA or bone density scan, uses very low levels of X-ray radiation to produce images of your bones.
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