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Osteoporosis results range for different parts of the body

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tbulley
tbulley

I have been diagnosed with osteoporosis based upon DEXA results taken from hip, forearm and spine. Spine is over -3.0 hip is around -2.5 and forearm is -0.3. Coincidentally I had full body DEXA scan that showed that overall I was OK, - meaning arms, legs, skull were good while ribs, spine and hips not good. In terms of cause, low Vit D appears to be the issue, still doing other tests but not yet finding smoking gun at this point. What is the reason for the range of results across different parts of my body? As I play active sports does this mean my legs and arms get enough stimulation from muscles onto bone to create or prevent bone loss, while the spine and hips don't get enough stimulation to prevent bone loss? This does not seem to make sense as both spine and hips should be stimulated by all weight bearing exercises, just as arms and legs do?

0 likes, 23 replies

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  • kathleen65757
    kathleen65757 tbulley

    Posted

    In Australia we do not have a whole body Dexa scan. I imagine bone loss should be consistent and not with such a huge variation. I have come to doubt the validity of these scans as well. My husband has questioned their accuracy and caused me to doubt my results. His bones are so good according to the Dexa scan he should be 20years old but he is 76.

    If your bones have not been broken then assume they are strong. Our results here do not differentiate between small people and taller, bigger boned people which makes my husband sceptical. He has back pain so we assume osteoarthritis as he has that in his knees as well.

     

    • tbulley
      tbulley kathleen65757

      Posted

      Hi Kathleen, thanks for your reply. I live in Perth and had several full body dexa scans as part of a university study (unrelated to my osteoporosis) as well as a specific scan for osteo on my wrist/arm, hip and spine, however the results of three consecutive full body scans in the study run within minutes of each other varied by 1.8%. Your comment about strong bones not breaking is interesting, see this reference talking about bone density and bone quality, meaning there is probably more to the osteoporosis story than just bone density. It appears that medicine in its wisdom is applying a normalised protocol based upon one metric because its simpler. I am sure more bone density is a good thing but likely there are other factors to consider and most practitioners take the path of least resistance that says, "you appear unwell but I don't have the diagnostic skills or time , just take a course of antibiotics and see if this works."

      https://www.mdedge.com/ccjm/article/95089/endocrinology/bone-density-vs-bone-quality-whats-clinician-do/page/0/1

  • kathleen65757
    kathleen65757 tbulley

    Posted

    Wow, another Aussie! Great that you have had such a complete scan as mine is very limited. It did not even take into account that I am small with tiny bones. My husband is nearly a foot taller and his results are the opposite to mine. He has plus 4 on back and hips. Considering he is 76 in August it is not believable! 

    Your variation in results is not so good though. I have become a sceptic.

     

  • oscar80077
    oscar80077 tbulley

    Posted

    only my experience:

    i suffered osteoporosis to my leg after ankle fracture. "don't worry it'll be fine very soon!!" i ended up breaking almost every bone in my foot instead even taking integrators.

    tests and exams luckly only showed a mild intolerance to milk. other bones are ok.

    we expected the bones to be even weaker after the new fracture, instead they look identical.

    my grandpa has never suffered even when 88, my uncle allready has a prescription.

    it's just not easy to forsee

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