Question:
What do you know about a heel scan?

I saw my gynecologist today and asked about getting a baseline bonescan. He was very supportive but suggested that I get a heel scan instead of the whole body radiation. Do any of you know if this is an accurate test for us to have? Will this be something that I can rely on? Would any of you recommend the whole body test instead? Thanks for the anticipated answers. Shelley    — Shelley. (posted on March 25, 2003)

March 25, 2003
hi shelley... i worked in orthopedics for many years. we had a dexa scan (bone density) machine in our office. your gyno is a little bit 'off' in his thinking that you would get alot of radiation during your dexa scan. in reality, you get about as much radiation from a dexa scan as you would flying on a plane. i do not know what a 'heel scan' is, but any kind of scan gives you radiation... but not much. i'd ask the gyno again about a dexa scan, and if he won't write a script for one, ask your general practitioner for the script. osteoporosis is nothing to fool around with, if left untreated it can do some very serious damage. it was wise on your part to want a base-line scan at this stage of the game... don't stop until you get one! good luck.. :o)
   — Karen D.

March 25, 2003
sometimes they use the heel or the finger to do a bone density test.
   — wizz46

March 25, 2003
Heel scans are becoming more and more widely used. The technology nowadays baffles all of us. How something like the heel scan can reveal such thing amazes me...but it does. I would go with the heal scan unless osteoporosis(sp) is rampant within your family. After getting this scan I would get the results and find out what your reading is. If it's at borderline levels, I would then see a specialist and ask their opinion. Good luck.
   — Diane S.

March 26, 2003
My very biased opinion is that a heel scan is a god money maker for someone. It is a red herring for osteoporosis. If it says you have problems, you have BIG problems. If it says you have no problems, it prevents you from getting a real scan. Only nagging by my peers got me to go get a real scan after a "great" heel scan. Had I not, I'd have lost even MORE bone. While my heel was "better than a 30 y/o", my real scan showed I had as much bone loss as someone in their 70's!
   — vitalady