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Does having a DXA scan hurt? Our daughter had surgery to correct a leg deformity that was making her left leg shorter than the right. Now she's wearing a special cage around the leg to help distract the bone and make the leg longer. The surgeon has recommended a DXA scan to see how things are coming. But last month, they used an Orthometer to measure how stiff her bone was, and she ended up screaming herself to sleep. We don't want to go through that again.

The Orthometer is a commercially available goniometer-based system designed to measure the stiffness of healing fractures. A goniometer is a tool used to measure joint (and bone) angles. This device is used first at the time of the surgery while the child is under general anesthesia. It has a three-point bending test and a microcomputer to calculate pressure applied to the bone. Bending angle and force can both be measured safely and accurately. This gives the surgeon a reference value against which to compare future measurements. Later, it can be used again externally. The cage is removed and clamps are attached to the pins still remaining. A special goniometer is attached to the clamps. Under a prescribed force or load, the amount of bend in the bone is measured by the goniometer. Any changes in the front-to-back and side-to-side bone angle is recorded. This is a measure of bone stiffness. Measuring bone stiffness during the healing process shows how the healing process is going. But using the Orthometer externally when the child is awake doesn't always go as smoothly as during surgery. The child may be anxious and/or experience pain. Muscle spasm can occur making measurements difficult. The DXA scan is a painless and short procedure. She should have no difficulty with it.

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