Osteoporosis Testing

What is osteoporosis? | What happens to osteoporotic bones? | What causes osteoporosis? | Bone density testing | Our experience | Our background | See our Specialist(s)

Via Christi Clinic’s Osteoporosis Testing Center has been awarded accreditation from the Commission on the Accreditation of Skeletal Assessment Facilities (CASAF).

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis, or porous bone, is a condition characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to bone fragility and an increased susceptibility to fractures of the hip, spine and wrist, among other sites.

Osteoporosis is often called the silent disease because bone loss occurs without symptoms. People may not know that they have osteoporosis until their bones become so weak that a sudden strain, bump or fall causes a fracture or a vertebra to collapse.

People tend to think of osteoporosis as an issue in women’s health since an estimated three out of five females acquire this condition. However, the male population is not immune. Approximately two of every five males also develops osteoporosis.

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What happens to osteoporotic bones?

Normal bone has small holes within it, but a bone with osteoporosis will have much larger holes.

What causes osteoporosis?

Women are considered at high risk for the disease if they have low body weight, a low calcium intake, poor health or a history of osteoporosis in their immediate family. Women who have had amenorrhea (absence of menstrual periods) and/or experience early menopause are at higher risk, due to insufficient estrogen.

Men with low testosterone levels, prostate cancer, Crohn’s disease, thyroid disorders and who take corticosteroid drugs may be at risk for osteoporosis.

Alcohol abuse, smoking and high caffeine intake are also thought to significantly increase the risk of osteoporosis in men and women, as well as diseases that prevent the body’s ability to absorb calcium, like kidney or thyroid gland diseases (hyperthyroidism).

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Bone density testing

Bone mineral density (BMD) tests measure bone density in the wrist, spine and/or hip (the most common sites of fractures due to osteoporosis). These tests are painless, non-invasive and safe.

Bone density tests can:

• Detect low bone density before a fracture occurs
• Determine your rate of bone loss and/or monitor the effects of treatment if the test is conducted at intervals of a year or more

Technical note: Bone density testing and comparison from one exam to the next relies on the precision of the technologist performing the exam and the accuracy of the machine that is utilized for testing. Because of these facts only exams performed on THE SAME MACHINE are comparable and have the ability to accurately report the effects of treatment and changes in bone density from one test to the next.

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Our experience

Our testing center performs and interprets approximately 3,600 scans each year. Our site is consistently chosen to participate in the search for better therapies for osteoporosis with other leading treatment investigators.

Our background

The testing center is a part of the Rheumatology department at Via Christi Clinic. Our physicians are specialists in musculoskeletal diseases. They help determine the causes of osteoporosis and other types of bone diseases. They assist other physicians by providing and monitoring treatment programs tailored to each patient that visits our center.

Our rheumatologists are active in educating the public and health care providers about this serious health problem.

The lead technologist at our testing center has performed the majority of these tests. He has taught technologists and physicians all over the United States and Canada the mechanics of proper osteoporosis testing and monitoring.

The physicians and technologists at Via Christi Clinic’s Osteoporosis Testing Center strictly follow the protocol set forth by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD).

As an international organization, ISCD links multiple disciplines dedicated to clinical and educational aspects of bone densitometry by:

• Enhancing greater knowledge and quality of densitometry among health care professionals
• Providing continuing education and certification courses for physicians and technologists
• Increasing patient awareness and access to densitometry
• Supporting clinical and scientific advances in the field

Experience and background become increasingly important for patients and health care providers as Medicare and other insurance carriers set standards for quality of osteoporosis testing centers in our community.

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Osteoporosis Testing Specialist(s)

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