If you are concerned about being "at risk"
for osteoporosis a good next step is to seek medical testing to
determine your current bone density and your current rate of bone
breakdown (resorption).
There are two commonly used medical tests that can help you learn
more about the health of your bones. These are: bone density and
bone resorption tests. Bone density tests measure the current density
of bone and bone resorption tests measure the current rate of bone
breakdown.
Bone density tests are helpful. You can see if you have more
or less bone than others your age, and you can learn how your
bone density compares to that of young people of you same sex.
You can also have repeat bone density tests to see if you are
gaining or loosing bone over time. It is these bone density tests
that are used to make the "osteoporosis" diagnosis.
Bone density measurements, however, cannot predict if you will
experience an osteoporotic fracture. There is a wide overlap in
bone density measurements of those who develop osteoporotic fractures
and those who do not. For example, perhaps half of all persons
in this country with "osteoporotic" low bone density,
in fact, never fracture. Bone resorption tests are simple urine
tests which can fill this gap and help determine if you are currently
losing bone or not. Sequential follow-up with these tests can
also help determine if your bone-building program is effective.
Next: Bone Density Tests
