Bone Density Testing

What should I expect when tested?

We recommend you wear a short sleeve shirt and loose fitting sweat pants or shorts. Typically we will be testing your wrist (radius bone) and your leg (tibia bone).

Each site requires the tester to put ultrasound gel on the test site. A small probe is then placed on the test site and a sound wave is sent along the bone and its speed of travel is measured. Testing time varies but is generally completed quickly within 10-20 minutes.

Test results are given in T and Z scores. This is the common scoring method used in all bone density testing systems.

T - score - tells you if your bone strenght is normal, osteopenic, or osteoporotic and compares your bones to a healthy young adult.

Z - score - tells you how your bonestrength compares to others in your age group. It is not nearly as important as the T-score.

Normal T score = -1 or greater
  Osteopenic T score = -1 to -2.5
       Osteoporotic T score = -2.5 or less

*Click on to, and go to individual screen with sample of a Bone Density Test Chart.