New Year, New You: 3 Reasons to Schedule a Bone Density Test

As you head into a new year, many of your resolutions may revolve around health. Maybe you want to lose weight. Or improve your diet. Or start a new exercise program.

Before you commit to any of those ventures, however, it’s important to understand what’s going on with your bones. Diet, weight, and exercise can all influence your bone health, both today and in the future. 

A bone-density scan in Lake Forest, Illinois, lets you and your doctor determine right away if you’re losing or have already lost bone mass. If so, tailor your new health routines to account for their effects on your bone strength and density.

At Mass Medical Imaging, Joseph Calandra, MD, and Karen Mass, MD, encourage you to find out what’s going on inside your bones this year. We conduct bone-density tests at our Lake Forest offices.

How can a bone-density scan for the new year lead to a new and better you? Here are three reasons.

1. Knowledge leads to positive action

As with mammograms, you may be reluctant to undergo a bone scan. What happens if the results show that you have osteopenia — the beginnings of bone loss — or outright osteoporosis? 

You remember how hunched over your grandmother was. Maybe she broke her hip, too, and that led to her decline. Does a bone-density scan (also called a DEXA scan) seal an unwanted fate that you’d rather not know about?

Although you may fear your results, once you know them, you can take action to either maintain your current healthy bone mass, halt or slow your bone loss, or help recover bone health. Whatever your results, they provide you with actionable insights.

2. Bone scans help you find the best exercise

Knowing your bone status helps you make important decisions about your health. If you need to build up or maintain your bones, choosing one plan over another can make a difference.

For instance, you may have considered taking up cycling as your new exercise routine. But your scan shows that you have some degree of bone loss. Cycling is suitable for cardiovascular health, but does nothing for your bones.

So, instead of cycling only, you may choose to add in jogging or power walking — both of which put healthy stress on your bones that encourages them to produce new cells. Or, instead of swimming every day, you alternate laps in the pool with time on the dance floor or on the rebounder (i.e., mini trampoline).

No matter your results, one type of exercise is essential to keep your bones healthy and strong: resistance training. Lifting weights, doing body-weight exercises, or using resistance bands helps you build more muscle mass.

Muscle mass puts tension on your bones. That tension tells your bones (all day long) to produce more bone cells. So, when you build muscle, you also build bone. 

3. Bone density tests help with dieting

If you have a significant amount of weight to lose, you may be tempted to crash diet (never a good idea) or try the new GLP-1 agonist drugs. Unfortunately, if you lose too much weight too quickly, you also lose significant muscle mass. 

While GLP-1 agonists may stimulate bone growth and slow bone loss, that benefit is negated if you lose significant amounts of muscle tissue as you also lose fat. Muscle mass makes your metabolism more efficient and also keeps healthy tension on your bones.

So, if you want to keep your bones healthy, you should approach any new diet with care. Make sure you lose weight gradually. Make sure you get all the nutrients your body — and bones — need, including minerals such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium.

Whatever dietary approach you choose (for life, not just weight loss), ensure you consume sufficient high-quality protein. Protein helps you build muscle. It also helps your body preserve bone mass. And a high-protein diet can help prevent muscle loss associated with GLP-1 agonist use. 

Are you ready to learn what your bones want to tell you about the new year’s new you? Schedule a bone-density scan by phoning our friendly staff at 847-235-2415 or booking with our online appointment form.