Osteoporosis A service of the Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Disease Program Osteoporosis is a thinning and weakening of the bones that increases the chance of fracture. Fractures can occur in the spine, hip, wrist or elsewhere when a person has osteoporosis. Up to half of postmenopausal women have osteoporosis and generally they show no symptoms until fractures occur. The exact cause of osteoporosis is not known. A big factor is the loss of natural estrogen that occurs in women around the time of menopause.
Osteoporosis can also affect men.
This is a simple, painless and safe procedure that takes about ten minutes of actual scan time. Bone densitometry measures the calcium content of the bones, a rough measure of bone thickness. Bone densitometry can detect osteoporosis before there are any symptoms, and before regular x-ray pictures show anything abnormal. The test results give an indication of how a person's bone thickness compares with that of other people of similar age and gender. Thin bones increase the risk of fracture.