Please note, I received a free DEXA Scan to review.  However, all opinions are my own.  Linking with Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Fitness 

Last week, I went and got a DEXA Scan.  What is that?, you might be wondering.  A DEXA Scan is a way to precisely measure body composition (muscle, fat, bone).  It also shows you any asymmetries that you may have, how much visceral fat you have, and bone density.  These are all extremely important to know because they impact training

While knowing my body composition is informative for training, I was most interested in learning what the scan would tell me about my bone health.  Many readers of the blog know that I have dealt with an eating disorder for the better part of  of a decade.  While my injury last summer helped me really move past a lot of my remaining demons, there has always been a nagging thought in the back of my head.  Have all my years of under-eating damaged my bones?  Did I put myself at risk of a stress fracture?  

For the last year or so, my doctor had suggested I get a DEXA Scan.  Admittedly, I was nervous to.  What if it did confirm that my bones were brittle?  But, I believe that knowledge is power.  What I learned could impact my running in a positive way.  So one day after work, I drove up to the Highland Park DexaFit location, conveniently located a few blocks from my parents’ house.  That way if I needed a hug after getting the results, I could.

What I really liked about the process is that I get the results immediately.  No waiting weeks for a lab to analyze the information.  I just had to lie still for six minutes while the scanner went over my body.  It felt like I was on a giant copy machine.  There’s a big arm that scanned me inch by inch and made a beeping sound after each pass.  The computer recorded everything and after six minutes, printed off my results to discuss with the technician.

The GOOD news is that my body fat is now back in the normal and healthy range.  The GREAT news is that my bones are fine!  I was so relieved.  In addition to showing my my overall body fat and bone health, the scan measured my lean muscle mass, fat tissue and visceral fat.

The scan even broke it down into WHERE in my body the muscle imbalances are.  My overall body total appeared to be symmetrical, only showing a 0.2 pound difference between my right and left sides.  BUT when I looked at the enhanced analysis, I saw a different story.  My right arm is stronger than my left by about half a pound.  The right leg is stronger than my left, by about a pound of muscle.  Unexpectedly, the left side of my torso is stronger than my right by almost two pounds!

These asymmetries could lead to injuries.  In fact, it’s probably one of the reasons I was injured last summer.  I knew that my right arm would be stronger because I write with that hand.  However, I didn’t expect to see muscle imbalances in my legs or torso!  This summer I will focus on fixing that.

Overall, I would recommend that athletes visit a DEXA location to get a scan. Knowing your body composition, specifically how much muscle you have, will help you make a better training and nutrition plan.  Knowing where any imbalances may live will also help you make important changes to weight training to help avoid future injuries.  If you are at all worried about your bone health and knowing your risk for osteoporosis like I was, then a scan can give you some answers.  One scan costs $150, or you can get a package of 2 scans for $180 and check your progress after a few months of implementing changes.

Have you ever gotten a Dexa Scan?  What aspect of the scan are you be most interested in knowing? Let’s stay in touch!  Follow me on Instagram or Facebook for more food/fitness related posts.  

Happy running,

Becca

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