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What is a bone density test?<\/strong>\nA bone mineral density (BMD) test measures how strong your bones are.\u00a0It\u2019s the only test that can tell you if you have osteoporosis or not.
\n
\nIt can also:<\/strong><\/em>
\n\u2022 Predict your risk of fractures.
\n\u2022 Let you know if you have osteoporosis after a fracture.
\n\u2022 See if osteoporosis treatment is making your bones stronger.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Should you get tested?<\/strong> A BMD test can be done several ways. The most accurate method is called dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (or DXA for short). This test is painless and similar to having an x-ray.<\/p>\n What do the results mean?<\/strong> \u2022 Between +1 and -1 means your bones are normal and healthy. <\/p>\n Even if a BMD test shows you have osteoporosis, you and your doctor can work together to manage it and help prevent fractures.<\/p>\n At your next visit, ask your primary care provider about scheduling a bone density test and what steps you can take to prevent weak bones and lower your risk for osteoporosis.<\/p>\n Sources: National Institutes of Health; National Osteoporosis Foundation; UpToDate<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Osteoporosis is a bone disease that makes bones weaker and more likely to break. Anyone can develop osteoporosis, but women are more likely to develop osteoporosis than men, and it\u2019s more common later in life. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, one in two women and up to one in four men will break a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":7720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[806,804,805,807,685],"class_list":["post-7716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medicare","tag-bmd","tag-bone-denisty-test","tag-bone-mineral-density","tag-may-is-national-osteoporosis-month","tag-osteoporosis"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/GettyImages-1018222744-e1554752147301.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6ZZGa-20s","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7716"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7737,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7716\/revisions\/7737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nA BMD test is advised for all women age 65 and older. Your doctor may also recommend it if you are at high risk for osteoporosis\u2014whether you\u2019re a man or a woman.<\/p>\n
\nThe results of a BMD test are reported as T-scores, which compare the strength of your bones to those of a healthy 30-year-old. A low T-score means you have thinner, weaker bones than a healthy young adult. The more negative the number, the greater your risk of a broken bone.
\nA T-score:<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Between -1.1 and -2.4 means your bone density is lower than normal, but not yet low enough
\nto be diagnosed as osteoporosis. Doctors call this low bone mass osteopenia.
\n\u2022 -2.5 or less means you have osteoporosis.<\/p>\n