DEXA Bone Density Scan in NYC

DEXA stands for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Two low-dose X-ray beams pass through your bones, usually at the hip and spine, and the difference in how they are absorbed reveals your bone mineral density. Radiation exposure is a small fraction of a standard chest X-ray. Your results come back as a T-score, which compares your bone density to that of a healthy young adult. A score of -1.0 or above is considered normal. Between -1.0 and -2.5 indicates osteopenia, meaning bone density is lower than normal. A score of -2.5 or below indicates osteoporosis. These thresholds come from the World Health Organization and are the same ones your insurance company and any physician will use.

Bone density peaks at 30 years old, so our advice is it’s never too early to prevent osteoporosis. Understanding your bone density score early allows you to take proper preventative measures and interventions earlier. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends bone density screening for all women 65 and older, and for postmenopausal women under 65 who have risk factors such as family history, low body weight, smoking, or certain medications like long-term steroids. Guidelines for men are less settled, but men over 70 or with fracture history often benefit from screening as well. If you have broken a bone from a minor fall, lost height, or been on medications that affect bone, it’s worth a conversation regardless of age.

You lie still on a padded table while the scanning arm passes overhead. Nothing touches you and nothing hurts. Afterward your medical provider reviews your T-score with you and recommends next steps if the numbers call for any.

Skip calcium supplements for 24 hours before the scan; food and your other medications are fine. Wear something loose without zippers, belts or metal buttons. Tell us if you have had a CT with contrast, a barium study or a nuclear medicine scan recently, since the scan may need to wait 10 to 14 days, and let us know before you book if you may be pregnant.

Low bone density usually calls for load, nutrition and follow-up rather than a supplement on its own. At neXendo Wellness an endocrinologist, our registered dietitians and our medical fitness trainers all see the same result, and our bone health program is built around a repeat scan so there is a measured change to look at.

We schedule our DEXA scans at our Long Island City office: 36-36 33rd Street, Suite 311, Long Island City, NY 11106.

A DEXA scan at neXendo Wellness is ordered by your provider, so the cost depends on your insurance and on whether it is paired with a visit. We go over it with you before anything is scheduled. Call 718-704-5376 and we will check your plan first.