The short explanation
A bone density scan (usually a DEXA scan) measures how dense your bones are and is used to judge fracture risk. It is not routine for everyone; it is usually offered to women after menopause who have risk factors, to anyone who has broken a bone from a minor fall, and to people on long-term steroid tablets or with conditions that thin bone. A parent who broke a hip is one of the recognised risk factors, so it is a reasonable thing to raise with your clinician.
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- Other factors include early menopause (before 45), periods that stopped for long stretches, low body weight, smoking, heavy alcohol use, rheumatoid arthritis, an overactive thyroid, and long-term use of some medicines. Clinicians often combine these into a risk estimate before deciding on a scan.
- Osteoporosis causes no symptoms until a bone breaks, which is why the risk factors matter more than how you feel.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- This cannot tell you whether you have osteoporosis or whether you need a scan now. A clinician who knows your history and age can say, and a scan result needs to be read alongside the rest of your risk.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- With my family history and age, would a bone density scan be useful now?
- What else raises my risk, and can any of it be changed?
- What would the result change about what you suggest?
- Is there anything I should be doing about falls at home?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
- Get emergency care now (call 112 or 108) after a fall with severe hip or back pain, being unable to stand or bear weight, or a leg that looks shortened or turned out.
- See a clinician within days for new back pain with loss of height or a stoop, or after any fracture from a minor fall.
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
- Osteoporosis NHS
- Bone density MedlinePlus (US National Library of Medicine)
- Osteoporosis MedlinePlus (US National Library of Medicine)
Who wrote and reviewed this
Every AskHer answer names its author. A clinically reviewed answer also names the clinician who signed it off — if no clinician is named below, it has not been clinically reviewed.
- Author
- AskHer Editorial (AI-assisted draft) AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off, and no person on the editorial team has read it yet. That is what the “Written with AI assistance” label means. It is queued for an editor to read, and then for a clinician who works in this area. The sources it was drafted against are listed above.
- Review status
- Written with AI assistance — not yet reviewed by a person
- Last reviewed
- Not yet reviewed by a person
- Version
- 1
Correction history
Substantive changes are listed, not quietly edited away.
No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
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