Topic: Back Pain

Loss of height of one inch or more may be an indicator of a vertebral fracture.That means one of the 29 “backbones” forming the spine might have a crack or be slightly crushed.These vertebral fractures are much more common than one would think and vertebral fracture is emerging as an important indicator of osteoporosis. For many years it has been standard practice for doctors to recommend bone density evaluation (with “DEXA” scans, or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, a special type of X-ray) around menopause because estrogen is a potent bone-builder, and estrogen begins to wane at menopause, or even before menopause.According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, 30 million American women (and 14 million American men) have osteoporosis today. This is a preventable disease, and if not prevented can seriously compromise quality of life, and, ultimately, longevity also.The DEXA scans measure bone density at several sites and give a standardized “score” to the bone density (called the T-score). A T-score of zero (0) is perfect.Anything below zero represents bone loss.A T-score of minus 1.5 (-1.5) means osteopenia (bone loss) and a T-score...