Ben Rolfs • December 9, 2025

Understanding DEXA Scans and Why They Matter for Your Bone Health

IV fluid drip bag hanging near bright green leaves in sunlight, symbolizing natural and holistic medical healing.

Osteopenia and osteoporosis affect millions of people, especially women over 50. For many, the first step in understanding bone health is a simple, painless test called a DEXA scan.

At OsteoStrong, we talk about DEXA scans every week. They are one of the best tools to assess where your bone density stands today and how your bone health is trending over time. Let’s walk through this…

What Is a DEXA Scan?

A DEXA scan (short for Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) is the gold-standard, clinical test for measuring bone mineral density (BMD).

It works by passing two low-dose X-ray beams at different energy levels through your bones, most commonly the spine (L1–L4) and hip (femoral neck). By measuring how much of the X-ray is absorbed, the machine calculates the density of your bone tissue.

A few key points:

It uses very low radiation, less than a cross-country flight.
It is painless, non-invasive, and typically takes 15-20 minutes.
It measures density, not bone quality (though some facilities offer add-ons for quality scores).

Understanding T-Scores (and Why They Matter)

After your scan, you’ll receive results that include a T-score. A T-score compares your bone density to that of a healthy 30-year-old of the same sex (the age when bone density peaks). The difference is expressed as a number of standard deviations.

How T-scores are interpreted:

T-Score Range

Important note:

A T-score is not a diagnosis of fracture risk on its own. Many factors like nutrition, hormones, bone quality, fall risk, and lifestyle also matter.

Why a DEXA Scan Matters

Bone loss is typically silent, you don’t feel it happening directly. A DEXA scan provides the baseline and monitoring needed to:

Identify bone loss early
Track changes over time
Evaluate fracture risk
Guide lifestyle changes, nutrition, and exercise programs

The earlier you know what’s happening, the better your chances of improving your bone density before a fracture occurs.

How OsteoStrong Fits In

Here’s how we support you before and after your DEXA scan:

We can help you find a convenient, reliable DEXA location

We maintain a list of trusted scanning centers in the area and can refer you to them.

Check out our Experience OsteoStrong page to learn how we can help you interpret your results, define a comprehensive plan, how our program fits in to that plan, and how to book some time with our team to learn more.

Final Thoughts

A DEXA scan is one of the most valuable tools you can use to understand your bone health, and it’s the starting point for creating a plan to improve it. Whether you’re concerned about osteoporosis, navigating menopause, or simply being proactive, knowing your numbers empowers you.

If you need help scheduling a scan or interpreting your results, we’re here. If you’re ready to take action and start building stronger bones, we’d love to meet you. Your bones matter and improving them is absolutely possible. At OsteoStrong, we see it every single day.

Image credit: // Shutterstock // Julinzy

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Nutritional Building Blocks for Bone Building

By Ben Rolfs • August 26, 2025

Nutritional Building Blocks for Bone Building When it comes to bone building, there are four key elements to success: proper loading of the skeletal system, nutrition (adding the things that are good for us), lifestyle choices (limiting the things that are bad for us), and including other exercise to create an active lifestyle. Today we are going to focus on how nutrition can help accelerate the process of bone building. For some people this can be the difference between simply trying to slow bone loss versus achieving something even greater - increasing bone density. Most people understand that you cannot do intense workouts and then expect to build muscle without having the proper amount of protein. And inversely we cannot expect to just consume lots of protein and expect to build muscle. We need both the trigger to strengthen and the building blocks. The same goes for our skeletal system. We need to trigger a response in the body to grow bone and the proper nutrients to build it. At OsteoStrong, our Spectrum process is the trigger and AlgaeCal is our recommended supplement to support effective bone building. While there are many nutrients our body uses to build bone, there are some that are very key. Let’s walk through how these essential vitamins and minerals work together for your bone health: Calcium While the most well-known key to building bone, and making up about 60% of our bone, our body needs the right type and amount of calcium. In order to absorb and utilize calcium, it needs to be in a highly soluble form, which is usually going to be naturally occurring in our diet or plant based. Your body can only work with so much calcium at a time. You want to get about 1000mg per day, but you want to try and get individual dosing down to 3-500mg at a time, and 3-5 hours apart. This gives your body the time it needs to process and absorb calcium. Try to avoid calcium carbonate. This is the most traditional form of calcium. It’s abundant and cheap, and unfortunately our bodies have a hard time absorbing calcium carbonate. And when we don’t absorb nutrients, they need to go somewhere. Free calcium in our bodies can settle in places like arteries and kidneys. Read your labels! Beware of supplements that claim to be plant based, but then also add calcium carbonate. Be careful of foods that claim to be rich in calcium, such as almond milk and orange juice, that actually contain calcium carbonate or even calcium hydroxide, which can actually be toxic in larger doses. Vitamin D3 D3 (cholecalciferol) is the form of vitamin D produced in human skin when exposed to UVB sunlight and is the most bioactive and preferred form of vitamin D for supplementation. D3 is essential for calcium to be broken down properly, which allows for much higher absorption. Studies have also shown its role in regulating phosphorus, the balance between osteoblasts and osteoclasts, and the parathyroid, which plays a part in balancing calcium in your body. Nearly every cell in our body has D3 receptors and supports a large array of functions in our bodies including immune system, muscles, mood, hormone regulation, organ health, and disease prevention, among others. Vitamin K2 (MK4 or MK7) K2 is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays a key role in calcium metabolism and helps direct calcium to the bones and away from soft tissues, including arteries and kidneys. It can activate osteocalcin, a bone-building protein made by osteoblasts. When activated by K2, it helps bind calcium into the bone matrix. It can activate Matrix Gla Protein (MGP) which inhibits both calcification of the arteries and kidney stones. Magnesium Magnesium is a macro-mineral involved in over 300 biochemical processes, including bone formation, muscle contraction, nerve signaling, and hormone regulation. Magnesium helps convert vitamin D3 into its active and useable form. Works with K2 to prevent excess calcium from accumulating in soft tissues. Supports proper integration of calcium and phosphate into the bone matrix. Boron Boron is a naturally occurring trace element found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and certain minerals. Though required only in small amounts, its impact on bone health is important. Boron increases the half-life of vitamin D3 in the bloodstream, making it more effective over time. Boron helps retain calcium and magnesium in the body by reducing urinary excretion - critical for mineral balance. It can also enhance osteoblast activity, regulate estrogen and testosterone, and act as a natural anti-inflammatory. We recommend AlgaeCal because they have figured out the proper balance of all these nutrients and are currently the only supplements clinically supported to increase bone density. Through our partnership with AlgaeCal, you will find the lowest prices you get on AlgaeCal products without long-term buys or subscriptions. Our team is here to support you on your journey. Contact us anytime if you have any questions. Lake Country - Delafield WI: 262.649.1964 | lakecountry@osteostrong.me Madison East - Cottage Grove WI: 608.709.7620 | madisoneast@osteostrong.me Disclaimer: The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be medical advice. Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.