Tests for Bone Problems: What You Need to Know

The bones in the body can develop issues like other body organs and tissues. These problems can be inflamed or fractured bones and even cases of cancer. Young people usually experience fractures and injuries, while older adults are faced with age-related osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. When the bones are impaired, it becomes difficult to move the body. Several tests can identify the underlying cause of bone problems.

Before any bone tests, you’ll have a visual examination where you’ll tell your doctor about your symptoms, the type of pain or movement difficulty and where it’s affecting. The doctor will also look at your medical history, lifestyle and any stress related to your job. During the visual exam, your doctor will check for abnormally placed bones and how well you can move the area. Should the doctor detect a specific issue, a bone profile blood test along with other tests and imaging may be performed.

What tests are used to diagnose bone problems?

X-rays

Bone examination with x-rays is done to have a clear picture of the bones inside the body. X-rays use radiation that passes through different body tissues to make the x-ray image. Since bones are dense, they absorb nearly all the radiation, making them look like grey or white outlines on the x-ray image. This means that x-rays can effectively examine bones. Due to the risk associated with radiation, x-rays are only done if medically required. It’s only in uncommon situations that pregnant women have x-rays.

When are x-rays used?

It identifies inflammation, fractures, abnormally placed bones and signs of wear and tear.

How is it done?

You’re asked to take off any cloth or piece of jewellery on the body part needing the x-ray examination. The area is then placed between the source of radiation and X-ray film. You can stand, sit or lie down for an x-ray exam. A lead apron is worn by patients to protect their genitals. The doctor and his team will also wear lead aprons for safety. X-ray images are produced within seconds.

Computed tomography

This test, also called CT scan, takes different body x-rays to get more accurate x-ray images. Using these different images, a computer generates a multidimensional cross-sectional image of the x-rayed body part. There are higher levels of radiation in CT exams than regular x-rays.

When is CT used?

CT scans are used to view invisible or unclear changes in bone structure that simple x-rays cannot detect.

How is it done?

You will lie on an examination table at this appointment, and your body will be moved through a circular CT scanner while the particular body part to be scanned will be encircled by a source of x-ray in the scanner. The test is completed in around 5 to 30 minutes overall, depending on the extent to which your body is scanned.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Also known as magnetic resonance tomography (MRT), this test gives comprehensive cross-sectional images of your body. It works using radio waves and magnetic fields.

Simply put the activity of the hydrogen atoms in your body are measured during the MRI scan. The signals from the scan are developed into 2-D or 3-D images of joints, soft tissues and bones.

Soft tissues are best scanned with MRI as they carry so much water like cartilage, ligaments or muscles.

When is MRI used?

For examining issues with the spine, shoulder or knee. It also reveals bone inflammation, injuries in ligaments and signs of wear and tear.

How is it done?

The MRI scanner is designed like a big tunnel and wired with special coils that produce radio waves and magnetic fields. You’ll lie on an exam table for the scan and move into the machine up to the point where the body part to be scanned is captured. As the machine takes images, it emits audible tapping noises. The procedure can be completed between 15 to 30 minutes overall.

Patients having implants in their bodies affected by magnetic fields will not have MRI scans as the magnetic fields will disturb the implant. These days, certain clinics have open-featured MRI scanners, which is convenient for obese persons and those afraid of confined spaces.

Blood tests

Some bone diseases can be identified with a bone profile blood test in London. A good example is an osteoporosis. Here, a blood test is performed to spot the risks of bone disease and identify other health issues by measuring essential minerals in the body. For instance, the calcium level in your blood can be measured to know if you have sufficient calcium. But the test doesn’t tell the level of calcium that is present in the bones. Alkaline phosphatase is another essential mineral that increases if the bone is infected – a blood test can identify this.

There are other minerals that the blood test measures to identify bone diseases like inflammation and tumours.

Bone and bone marrow biopsies

The doctor will remove some tissue from your bone with a thin needle to do a bone biopsy. This is then tested for any changes that may cause disease.

For bone marrow biopsy, the tissue is removed from the bone marrow, not the bone.

When is this test used?

The test actually examines problems like inflammation, tumours and bone diseases such as osteoporosis. Persons considered to have issues with blood production, including anaemia, may be recommended to get a bone marrow biopsy.

How is it done?

The doctor will select where to get the bone tissue and administer a local anaesthetic on the area. A small incision will now be made so that the biopsy needle can penetrate. For bone biopsies, the doctor may remove tissue from the kneecap (patella), the thigh bone (femur) or pelvic bone. The tissue is typically removed from the breastbone or top part of the pelvic bone for bone marrow biopsies. This sample sent to the lab for testing.

Bone scans

This is not like the bone profile blood test UK. Bone scans are rather centred on creating images of your bone metabolism. It’s also called bone scintigraphy. For a clearer scan, your body will be injected with a weak radioactive substance. This is done before the exam. The radioactive material will gather in the bones and present clearer pictures of different bone structures. Inflamed tissues or cancer metastases absorb more of this substance than healthy tissues. The scanned image will show this. Radiation is also a part of bone scans.

When is a bone scan used?

Following an inflammation or tumour, your bone metabolism may be altered. If your doctor thinks you’re having these issues, they may recommend bone scans. Again, fractures that aren’t healing properly can be viewed with this test.

How is it done?

Your doctor will inject your vein with the radioactive substance. Several hours will pass for this substance to spread over your body. After this, you’ll lie down, and a special camera will move over your body to take images.

Bone density tests

Also known as bone densitometry, this test takes count of your bone minerals. The outcome shows how much resistance your bones have against fracture. Bone density is typically done with a special x-ray technique known as dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA or DEXA).

X-rays that aren’t strong are typically transmitted from beneath via the upper part of the thigh bone (femur) and the bones of the spine.

Should your spine have a lot of wear and tear, this test will view your thigh bone. Where there’s an artificial hip joint, the test focuses on just the spine.

DXA exposes patients to less radiation than regular x-rays and lesser radiations compared to computer tomography.

X-ray images are not made from bone density tests. It rather measures the ease with which x-rays penetrates the bones. Very brittle and porous bones will allow more passage of X-rays.

A T-score is a measure of how much x-rays pass via bones. And it compares the bone density measured with the bone density of healthy young people.

If the T-score is above -1, the result is normal. T-score between -1 and -2.5 is low. Anyone with a T-score of -2.5 or less is likely to have osteoporosis based on recent findings.

There are times the bone density of the heels is measured with computer tomography. However, there isn’t sufficient evidence to support whether the result of this test is more or less accurate than the outcome of DXA. Again, more radiation is released in a CT.

When is bone densitometry used?

It is used for the detection of osteoporosis and the risk level of bone fractures. It tells how much effect treatment is having on patients.

How is it done?

For the exam, you’ll lie on your back on the table. Where your spine bone density is to be measured, the doctor will raise your legs and bend them at a 90° angle. Your legs will remain in their lying position if the measurement is for the neck of your thigh bone.

X-rays will be produced from a generator placed under the exam table, while a scanner moving over your body will be measuring your body’s absorption of the x-rays. This test is completed within 5 to 10 minutes.

Lastly…

Those mentioned above are several types of bone tests to identify bone problems. Contact us if you are looking for bone profile blood test near me.