Offered at our 5203 Vernon Ave. S. Location

Available Mon, Wed, Thurs and Friday

8:00 am - 12:  pm   1:30pm - 4:30 p.m.

DEXA bone density testing measures your bone mass.  The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends getting a bone density scan on regular intervals if you are a postmenopausal woman at risk for osteoporosis.  It is a simple, non-invasive, painless test that measures your bone density and helps determine your risk for osteoporosis and fracture.

Your DEXA reports are usually read by your physician the same day you have your test.  The results of your test, along with your diet and exercise level help your doctor to determine your risk of osteoporosis.  Your readings are compared to reference readings taken from adults of your sex while at their peak bone mass.  The result is called a T-score, which tells you and your doctor where your bone density compares across a range.

Your bones are living tissue like your liver or kidneys.  Bones are constantly renewing; old bone is taken away and replaced with new bone.  After age 35, bone breaks down faster than it forms.  Osteoporosis is a condition where cells that break down bone work faster than cells that regenerate bone.  In fact, women can lose up to 20% of their bone mass in the first 5 to 7 years after menopause.  If you are over 50 or past menopause, it’s important to know if you are at risk and how to protect yourself from a fracture.  Keeping your bones healthy and strong should be a priority. 

Nearly three times as many women have osteoporosis than the women who have had it detected and are on medication to control it.  Each year, more women break a bone due to osteoporosis than have a stroke, heart attack or breast cancer combined.  However, it is possible to detect osteoporosis and to intervene before a fracture occurs!  When osteoporosis is detected early, diet, exercise, and possibly medication will help slow down or prevent further bone loss from occurring. 

The risk factors for osteoporosis are:  menopause, family history of osteoporosis, drinking alcohol often, smoking, thin or small frame, and using medications such as steroids for more than three months.

Your doctor at Edina Family Physicians can answer any questions you may have about your risk for osteoporosis!

Patient Preparation

      Wear comfortable clothing without metal fasteners or ornaments.

      You should  not take vitamin pills, calcium supplements or antacids such as Tums or Rolaids the morning of the exam.

      Let us know if you have had a total hip replacement or any type of lumbar spine surgery

      Have no nuclear medicine contrast studies in the three weeks preceding the exam.

      Have no barium studies in the week preceding exam.

      You must not be pregnant.