Dr. Strobel here are some guidlines to help you determine whether you should have a BMD test. BMD testing should be performed on:

• All women aged 65 and older regardless of risk factors

• Younger postmenopausal women with one or more risk factors (other than being white, postmenopausal and female).

• Postmenopausal women who present with fractures (to confirm the diagnosis and determine disease severity).

Note: Medicare covers BMD testing for the following individuals aged 65 and older:

• Estrogen deficient women at clinical risk for osteoporosis
  Individuals with vertebral abnormalities

• Individuals receiving, or planning to receive, long-term glucocorticoid (steroid) therapy

• Individuals with primary hyperparathyroidism

• Individuals being monitored to assess the response or efficacy of an approved osteoporosis drug therapy.

Medicare permits individuals to repeat BMD testing every two years.

There are several ways to measure bone mineral density; all are painless, noninvasive and safe and are becoming more readily available. In many testing centers you don't even have to change into an examination robe.

The tests measure bone density in your spine, hip and/or wrist, the most common sites of fractures due to osteoporosis. Recently, bone density tests have been approved by the FDA that measure bone density in the middle finger and the heel or shinbone. Your bone density is compared to two standards, or norms, known as age matched and young normal. The age-matched reading compares your bone density to what is expected in someone of your age, sex and size. The young normal reading compares your density to the optimal peak bone density of a healthy young adult of the same sex.

The information from a bone density test enables your doctor to identify where you stand within ranges of normal and to determine whether you are at risk for fracture. In general, the lower your bone density, the higher your risk for fracture. Test results will help you and your doctor decide the best course of action for your bone health.

For more information on osteoporosis click on this link