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Bone density scan (DEXA)
This is the test that identifies thin bones before they break. It sounds far more involved than it is: you lie on a table fully clothed for about ten minutes while an arm passes over you.
What people worry about
It is a big scan like an MRI.
It is nothing like it.
You lie on an open table. There is no tunnel, no loud noise and no injection. A flat arm passes slowly above you.
Most people are surprised how ordinary it is.
The radiation must be high for a bone scan.
It is one of the lowest-dose scans there is.
A DEXA scan uses a very small fraction of the radiation of a CT, and less than a chest X-ray.
It is repeated only every year or two, and only when the result would change treatment.
I do not need it — I have no pain.
That is exactly the point.
Thin bones cause no symptoms until something breaks. There is no ache that warns you.
The test is for people at risk — after a fracture from a minor fall, after an early menopause, after long-term steroid tablets, or with a parent who broke a hip.
What actually happens
Questions and height measurement 5 minutes
Height, weight, fractures, family history, medicines.
You lie on the table, fully dressed 1 minute
A cushion under the knees. Metal off — zips, belts, coins.
The hip and spine are scanned 5–10 minutes
An arm moves slowly above you. You breathe normally and stay still.
Done —
You get up and go. There is nothing to recover from.
Guides for you
In your language, free to download. Each one is a short PDF you can keep on your phone or print.
Ready when you are.
Call either clinic during consulting hours, or send a WhatsApp message any time.