DEXA Scan (Bone Density Test) in Australia

What Is a DEXA Scan?

DEXA, sometimes written DXA, stands for Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry. It's a medical imaging technique that uses two X-ray beams at different energy levels to measure bone mineral density, reported in grams per square centimetre (g/cm²). It's non-invasive, involves no needles or injections, and is widely considered the gold standard for diagnosing osteoporosis and assessing overall bone density.

The same scan also doubles as a detailed body composition assessment, breaking down how much of your body is fat, lean muscle, and bone, and where that fat is distributed, including visceral fat around your organs.

What Does the Everlab DEXA Scan Check For?

Our combined scan reports 20 data points across two categories. Select a marker below for a plain-English explanation of what it means for your health.

Bone Mineral Density (9 markers)

1. ‍Lumbar Spine Density - Measures the mineral density of your lower spine (L1 to L4), one of the two primary sites used to assess bone health and diagnose osteoporosis. Spinal bone tends to respond faster to bone loss or bone-building interventions than other sites, making it useful for tracking change over time.
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2. ‍Spine Density T-score - Compares your lumbar spine density to a healthy young adult of the same sex. This is the score doctors use to classify bone density as normal, osteopenia, or osteoporosis.
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3. ‍Spine Density Z-score - Compares your lumbar spine density to others your own age, sex, and ethnicity, helping flag whether bone loss is happening faster than expected for your age.
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4. ‍Left Femoral Neck Density - Measures bone density at the narrow part of the thigh bone just below your left hip joint, one of the most common sites for fragility fractures.
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5. ‍Right Femoral Neck Density - The same measurement on your right hip, read alongside the left to check for meaningful side-to-side differences.
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6. ‍Hip Density T-score (left and right) - Compares your hip bone density on each side to a healthy young adult of the same sex. Along with the spine T-score, this is one of the primary scores used to assess fracture risk.
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7. ‍Hip Density Z-score (left and right) - Compares your hip bone density on each side to others your own age, sex, and ethnicity.

Body Composition (11 markers)

1. ‍Height - Recorded at the start of your scan and used to calculate several other measurements in your report, including BMI, FMI, and FFMI.
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2. ‍Weight - Your total body weight, measured on the day of your scan and used alongside your other results to calculate body composition indices.
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3. ‍Body Mass Index (BMI) - Your weight relative to your height. It's a widely used screening tool, but it can't tell fat from muscle, which is exactly what the rest of your DEXA results are designed to clarify.
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4. ‍Total Body Fat % - The proportion of your total body weight made up of fat, measured directly rather than estimated, unlike scale-based body fat readings.
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5. ‍Total Fat Mass - The actual weight of fat tissue in your body, in kilograms.
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6. ‍Total Lean Mass - The weight of everything in your body that isn't fat, mostly muscle, but also organs, water, and connective tissue.
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7. ‍Fat Mass Index (FMI) - Your fat mass adjusted for your height, similar in concept to BMI but isolating fat specifically rather than total weight.
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8. ‍Fat Free Mass Index (FFMI) - Your lean mass adjusted for your height, commonly used to track muscle mass independent of body fat, and useful for spotting muscle loss that weight or BMI alone would miss.
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9. ‍Visceral Fat Mass (VAT) - The fat stored around your internal organs, rather than just under the skin. Higher visceral fat is more strongly linked to metabolic and cardiovascular risk than overall body fat percentage. We've written more on why visceral fat matters and how to reduce it.
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10. ‍Android/Gynoid Ratio - Compares fat stored around your abdomen (android) to fat stored around your hips and thighs (gynoid). A higher ratio reflects more centrally stored fat, which research links to greater cardiometabolic risk, while a lower ratio reflects a more hip-and-thigh dominant distribution.
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11. ‍Muscle Index (RSMI) - Short for Relative Skeletal Muscle Index, this measures the lean muscle in your arms and legs relative to your height. It's one of the main measurements used to screen for sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass, which starts earlier than most people expect. Our grip strength test is another way to assess muscle function directly, alongside this measurement.

T-scores and Z-scores explained

T-score compares your bone density to a healthy young adult of the same sex. This is the score doctors use to diagnose osteoporosis:

• -1.0 or higher: normal bone density
• Between -1.0 and -2.5: osteopenia, lower than normal bone density, but not yet osteoporosis
• -2.5 or lower: osteoporosis

Z-score compares your bone density to typical, healthy levels for someone of the same age, sex, and ethnicity. It's particularly useful for spotting bone loss happening faster than expected for your age, rather than just comparing you to a young adult baseline.

How Much Does the DEXA Scan Cost?

The DEXA scan costs $279 for Everlab members and $299 for non-members. A referral is required by law for this scan, but we arrange it for you as part of your booking, so there's no need to organise one yourself before you come in.

Who Is the DEXA Scan For?

Bone density naturally becomes more of a focus with age, but we don't gate this scan by age the way some guidelines do:

• Women 65+ and men 70+: this is the age range most screening guidelines recommend for routine bone density testing, since osteoporosis risk rises significantly from here. In Australia, an estimated 15 to 23% of women over 50, nearly 1 in 5, are affected by osteoporosis, and risk increases further with age.
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• Women from around age 50 with other risk factors: guidelines often recommend earlier screening around menopause if you have additional risk factors such as a family history of osteoporosis, previous fractures, low body weight, or long-term steroid use.
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• Earlier screening for prevention: we make this scan available to members of any age, because a DEXA scan can identify osteopenia well before any symptoms occur, giving you years, sometimes decades, to act on it through diet, training, or medication before it becomes a bigger issue.
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• Anyone tracking body composition: if you're training for strength, managing weight, or just want to know your actual fat and muscle split rather than relying on BMI or the bathroom scale.
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• Post-menopausal women: oestrogen decline after menopause accelerates bone loss, making this a natural checkpoint for a baseline scan.
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• Anyone on medicines that affect bone health: long-term steroid use and some other medical conditions or medications can weaken bones over time, so a baseline and periodic re-checks can be worthwhile.
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• Anyone already diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia: a DEXA scan can help determine whether treatment is working by monitoring your bone density over time.

How Do I Prepare for the Scan?

24 hours before

• Avoid intense exercise.
• Don't take calcium or iron supplements.

2 hours before

• Fast from food and drinks other than water.

On the day

• Wear comfortable clothing with no metal (no zips, hooks, underwire, or jewellery), as metal can interfere with the accuracy of the scan. We'll provide scrubs if needed, and you remain clothed throughout the procedure.
• Arrive 10 minutes early.
• If you've had a barium exam, a CT scan with contrast dye, or a radioisotope scan recently, let us know when you book, as we may need to adjust your timing.
• If you are, or think you might be, pregnant, contact us before your appointment. This scan isn't performed during pregnancy.
• Let us know about any other medical conditions that might affect your scan, such as a recent fracture or spinal hardware.

How Does the DEXA Scan Work? (The Procedure)

The appointment takes about 20 minutes in total, most of which is positioning and explanation. The actual scanning time is around 5 to 10 minutes.

1. You'll be greeted and taken through a short pre-screening (identity check, fasting confirmation, pregnancy check, any implanted devices like a CGM or pacemaker, and recent imaging history).
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2. Your height and weight are measured and recorded.
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3. One of our DEXA operators (not a radiographer, this scan doesn't require one) explains each position and walks you through what to expect before each part of the scan.
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4. You'll lie still on a flat padded table while we capture your lumbar spine, hip, and whole-body composition. You remain clothed throughout, and you won't feel anything during the scan.
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5. Your results aren't discussed on the day. They're reviewed by an Everlab doctor and explained to you at your Diagnostics Review appointment.

What Do My Results Look Like?

Your test results cover bone density at your lumbar spine and both hips, each with a T-score and Z-score, alongside your full body composition breakdown, including BMI, total body fat %, lean mass, and visceral fat (VAT). We read these results alongside the rest of your Everlab health profile, not in isolation, and your doctor walks you through what they actually mean for you at your Diagnostics Review.

What If My Bone Density Is Low?

If your results show below-average or low bone density, your Everlab doctor will talk you through options suited to your situation, which may include:

• Exercise: weight-bearing activity and strength training are well-established ways to support bone strength over time.
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• Diet and supplementation: your doctor may recommend more vitamin D or calcium, either through food or supplements, depending on your levels.
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• Medication: for more significant bone loss, there are medicines that can slow further loss or help rebuild density, and your doctor can discuss whether these are appropriate for you.

We build a full plan around your specific result, not a generic recommendation, since what's right for early-stage bone loss looks different from what's right for established osteoporosis. If you're already being treated for osteoporosis, repeat DEXA scans are also one of the main ways we monitor whether that treatment is actually working.

Benefits of a DEXA Scan

• Quick and non-invasive: no needles, no injections, and no recovery time. You're in and out in about 20 minutes.
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• No anaesthesia required: you stay fully awake and comfortable throughout.
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• Minimal radiation exposure: low enough to make periodic monitoring safe, which is why we can repeat this scan for you up to 4 times a year if clinically appropriate.
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• Highly accurate: considered the gold standard for bone mineral density, and equally useful for tracking body composition and muscle mass changes over time.
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• Guides your care: results directly inform whether your doctor recommends lifestyle changes, supplementation, or medication, and give you an objective way to track progress on any of them.

Are There Risks or Limitations?

DEXA is one of the safest imaging tests available, but it's worth knowing the details.

• Radiation dose: very low. It's roughly 1/10th of a standard chest X-ray, or about the same as the radiation you'd get on a Melbourne to Sydney flight. Because the dose is so low, any associated cancer risk from the radiation itself is considered negligible.
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• Frequency limit: we can perform up to 4 whole-body composition scans per person per year, with at least 8 weeks between scans. This is a regulatory limit, not just a clinical guideline.
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• Pregnancy: this scan isn't performed during pregnancy, even though the radiation dose is very low. Let us know if this may apply to you.
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• Comparing results over time: different DEXA machines can produce slightly different results due to calibration differences between manufacturers. Where possible, we recommend repeat scans on the same machine for the most accurate comparison.
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• Severe spinal conditions: significant spinal degeneration, previous fractures, or spinal hardware can artificially raise your spine density reading, so your doctor will interpret your results with this in mind if it applies to you.
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• Size limits: DEXA tables have a weight limit (typically 160 to 200kg) and a fixed scan width. If a full-body scan isn't possible, we can usually still assess bone density using a forearm scan instead.

Sources

1. Better Health Channel - Bone density testing

2. John Hopkins Medicine - Bone Densitometry

3. National Institute of Health - Bone Mineral Density Tests: What the numbers mean