Osteoporosis is a silent disease. You cannot see or feel your bones getting thinner.

Risk assessment is the first step in taking an active role in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis. To find out about your personal risk you can use the NYSOPEP Osteoporosis Risk Assessment tool that is right for you.

A bone mineral density test (BMD test) can diagnose osteoporosis osteoporosis before a bone breaks. A BMD test is a quick, painless, low-dose x-ray that measures the density or thickness of your bones.

Dual x-ray energy absorptiometry (DXA) of the hip and spine, it is the preferred method to measure bone mineral density.

Guidelines have been established to determine who should have a BMD test. The decision to have a BMD test should be made in collaboration with your healthcare provider.

There are two scores used by experts to interpret your BMD results, the T-score and the Z-score.