Diagnosis of Osteoporosis

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Osteoporosis is often undiagnosed until the weakening of the bones has led to a broken bone. An X-ray cannot reliably measure bone density but is useful to identify spinal factures.

A bone density scan, called a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, is used to measure the density of bones and compare this to a normal range. This test measures the strength of bones and the risk or fracture.