Idaho Falls-based Teton Radiology is joining with the National Osteoporosis Foundation to celebrate National Osteoporosis Month beginning this week. As part of the annual observance, NOF is calling on women and men to start conversations about bone health and family history as the first step to protecting themselves and future generations from osteoporosis.
In fact, one of the best ways to detect the condition is via bone densitometry--a technique used by Teton Radiology and other specialists.
It is most often used to diagnose osteoporosis, a condition that often affects women after menopause but may also be found in men. Osteoporosis involves a gradual loss of calcium, causing the bones to become thinner, more fragile and more likely to break. The DEXA test can also assess your risk for developing fractures. If your bone density is found to be low, you and your physician can work together on a treatment plan to help prevent fractures before they occur. DEXA is also effective in tracking the effects of treatment for osteoporosis or for other conditions that cause bone loss.
In the U.S today, about 10 million individuals have osteoporosis and another 34 million have low bone density, placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis and broken bones. In fact, a woman’s risk of breaking a hip is equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer.
Despite these startling facts, NOF recently surveyed mothers and daughter and found that 94 percent of mothers and daughters admit they are not concerned with osteoporosis as a health condition and only 26 percent have spoken with one another about the disease. With up to one in four men at risk of suffering a broken bone due to osteoporosis, men need to be taking part in these conversations as well.
For more information about osteoporosis, including prevention, risk factors and treatment, please visit the National Osteoporosis Foundation website at www.nof.org or call 800-231-4222. You can reach Teton Radiology at 208-524-7237. To learn more about the DEXA test and other subjects, visit http://www.tetonradiology.com.
