We’ve developed a comprehensive six-step process that acts as your personal health roadmap, to follow towards your health goals.
A DEXA scan is one of those things that sounds technical until you’ve had one. Then you realise it’s not much more effort than lying still for a few minutes. But in that time, it can tell you things you wouldn’t otherwise know how solid your bones are, how your weight is split between muscle, fat, and the deeper fat around your organs that’s not visible but still matters. Two answers in one go. And you don’t have to do anything uncomfortable to get them.
Here in Australia, more people are booking DEXA scans for prevention. Not because they’re sick, but because they don’t want to wait until they are. Bones lose strength quietly over time. Body composition shifts with age, hormones, stress, illness. The bathroom scale only shows one number; it doesn’t explain whether that number is mostly muscle, mostly fat, or where that fat is sitting. A DEXA scan does.
At Longevity Clinic, this test isn’t a stand-alone product on a menu. It fits into the bigger health picture. We use it alongside other services such as hair loss treatments, menopause support, erectile dysfunction care, and more to give a clearer view of what’s going on inside. A lot of our patients leave with more than just a report; they leave with something to work towards. Sometimes it’s improving bone density, sometimes building muscle, sometimes changing diet. But they leave knowing, and that’s a big shift from guessing.
The name Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry sounds like something buried in a research paper, but the process isn’t complicated. Two low-energy X-rays are sent through the body. The scanner looks at how each one is absorbed. That difference lets it work out your bone density and how your body weight is divided into lean tissue, fat, and bone.
It’s mostly known for spotting osteoporosis early. It can show bone loss before it causes fractures. That’s important, because waiting until you’ve had a break means you’re already dealing with the consequences.
The other part of body composition analysis is just as valuable. It’s one thing to know your weight, another to know how much of that is muscle, how much is fat, and where the fat is stored. Fat around the organs (visceral fat) is a big health risk, even for people who aren’t visibly overweight. And unlike calipers or bathroom scales that estimate, a DEXA scan maps it out precisely.
Radiation exposure? It’s tiny. Less than what you’d get walking around outside on a sunny day. That’s why it’s fine for repeated use when you and your healthcare provider want to track changes over time whether that’s after an injury, during a training program, or managing a condition.
No fasting, no injections, no special preparation. You arrive, have a short chat with the technician, and get started.
Then you’re done. No recovery time. You can head straight back to work, to the gym, wherever you need to be. The results aren’t just numbers; they come with images and breakdowns. We walk through them so you understand what’s showing up and why it matters. You can see your bone density scores, muscle-to-fat ratio, and changes if you’ve had scans before. That context is where the value really sits.
Some people think it’s only for the elderly or those with diagnosed bone problems. It’s not. The changes DEXA picks up often start years before you’d feel them. That’s why it’s used for prevention as much as diagnosis.
It’s recommended more often for women over 65, men over 70, and women after menopause because bone density changes faster in these groups. Athletes use it to check muscle mass and fat balance. People with certain conditions, thyroid issues, digestive diseases, and long-term steroid use are at higher risk for bone or muscle loss, so regular checks make sense.
Even without those risk factors, there’s value in knowing your baseline. That way, any change stands out in the future.
Some things that raise the need for a scan:
We see people from every one of these groups, plus people who just want to take control of their health while they can. The scan doesn’t take much time, it’s safe, and the results can help you make decisions before a problem has time to build.
Some tests are good for one thing. They look at a single number, give you that, and you walk away still wondering about the rest. A DEXA scan is different. It pulls two big pieces of health information together bone density and body composition and it does both in one sitting. This is why it’s often called the gold standard. You get more detail, more accuracy, and more context than most other methods.
The details aren’t just for curiosity. It’s the kind that changes how you approach your health. Knowing your bone density might push you to protect it before it drops further. Seeing exactly where fat is stored whether under the skin or deeper around the organs can help guide diet or exercise in a smarter way. Athletes use it to keep muscle mass in check. People at risk of osteoporosis use it to spot early warning signs. Anyone can use it to get a clear baseline for long-term health.
Some of the biggest benefits:
It’s one of the few tests that works for prevention, monitoring, and progress tracking all at once. Whether you’re aiming to maintain strong bones, improve fitness, or just know exactly where you stand, it delivers the answers.
The scan itself is simple, but the preparation matters. Small things you do before can affect the results, so it’s worth taking a little care. This isn’t about strict routines, it’s about avoiding the few things that could throw off the readings.
Before your scan, it’s best to:
These aren’t hard to follow. Most people find they just need to adjust what they wear and skip one or two habits the day before. By keeping it simple, you make sure the results truly reflect your normal state.
You arrive and provide the necessary details for the record. The technician outlines the process before the scan begins. The table is padded and open, with no enclosed structure and no confined space. You are asked to lie flat and remain still while the scanner arm moves slowly above. It does not make contact. There is no discomfort, no strain, and no need to hold awkward positions.
For bone density assessment, the focus is on the spine, hips, and in some cases, the forearm. For a full body composition scan, the device works from head to toe. The duration varies, generally between ten and twenty-five minutes, depending on the scope of the scan.
When it is complete, you stand and leave without the need for recovery. Normal activities can be resumed immediately. The results are processed promptly, and at Longevity Clinic they are explained directly, ensuring the figures are understood in context and their relevance to your overall health is clear.
If you’ve never seen a DEXA report before, it can look technical. But when you break it down, it’s straightforward. For bone health, there are usually two main scores:
The body composition part shows things like:
Our team takes into account the results with regard to. When the bone density is less than it ought to be, we can recommend dietary modification, supplementation or some exercises to increase bone. When body fat is excessive or muscle is low we can add that to weight loss or training programs. It is not a mere picture but a part of the way you track your health.
Radiation exposure from a DEXA scan is extremely low, less than a long flight across the country. It’s been used safely for decades, and the risk of harm is minimal. That’s why it’s approved for repeat use when you need to monitor changes over time.
It has one precaution though that it is usually avoided during pregnancy, simply to reduce the exposure to the developing baby to a bare minimum. No adverse effects (long-term) are known beyond that. It is a fast and painless scan that is regarded as one of the safest imaging techniques to be used in monitoring bone and body composition.
A scan on its own doesn’t change anything. It’s numbers, images, figures on a page. What actually matters is what you do with them. That’s where we use DEXA results turning them into something you can act on. Sometimes it’s a change in how you eat. Sometimes it’s adding the right supplements. Other times it’s shifting your training plan or pairing the results with treatments like hormone therapy or a weight program.
We don’t see it as separate from the rest of what we do here. Hair loss care, menopause support, ED treatment, general health checks they’re all connected. The scan is just one more way to see the full picture. It gives us a fixed point to measure against. Then, when you come back later, we can see if the path you’ve taken is working.
It’s not a single appointment and then goodbye. The first scan is the starting line. The next one shows what’s changed. And over time, those comparisons tell a story where you were, where you are, and where you can still go to keep building better health.
A bone density scan, also called bone densitometry or dual X-ray absorptiometry, is designed to measure bone mineral density and bone mineral content rather than just creating pictures. Unlike a CT scan, it focuses on assessing bone mass and the distribution of soft tissue without exposing you to a high radiation dose.
It is often recommended if there is a history of bone fracture from minor falls, low bone mass shown in earlier tests, or risk factors such as low vitamin D levels. A bone density test can also be advised after certain blood tests suggest bone health concerns.
Yes, while its primary role is to measure bone mineral density, it also provides insight into soft tissue composition. This makes it useful for assessing muscle mass and fat distribution alongside bone health.
The radiation dose from this type of scan is very low, much less than most other medical imaging methods. It is safe for repeated monitoring when bone health or body composition needs to be tracked over time.
By measuring bone mass accurately, a DEXA scan can detect early loss of density. This allows for timely interventions, such as improving vitamin D intake or making lifestyle changes, to strengthen bones before a fracture occurs.
