Osteoporosis is a silent disease and usually does not produce any symptoms. Usually, the first sign of osteoporosis is a fracture; however, sometimes people notice that they have kyphosis (a hunchback) or a loss of height. Severe osteoporosis can be seen in X rays.
In screening camps, a peripheral DXA is commonly used. It measures the bone density at the heel. This could be considered as a screening test and should alert the physician that a more elaborate central DXA is needed. A central DXA uses a small dose of X rays to look at the bone of the spine, hip, and forearm to understand the density of bone. The density of the person’s bone is compared to that of a healthy person’s bone to get a T score. The level of the T score decides the degree of osteoporosis. There are other methods like QCT used for measuring bone density in research settings.
Author- Dr. Mathew John