Q: DXA uses radiation.  Is it safe?

A: DXA uses a very low dose of radiation.  The amount of radiation from a single DXA scan is equivelant to the amount or radiation exposure on a cross country airline flight.

Q: How often should an athlete be scanned?

A: Frequency can vary based on an athlete’s goals and schedule.  Many colleges that use DXA, scan their athletes three or four times a year: pre-season, in-season, post-season and off-season.  However, an athlete that is in a training phase, may wish to monitor body composition on a monthly bases during training.

Q: What are the benefits of DXA over other methods of measuring body composition?

A: There is no perfect method to measure body composition.  However, DXA is the most comprehensive method available today.  DXA provides highly reproduceable segmental (regional) measurements.  DXA has also been widely adopted by the scientific community and thus a great deal of research is available for DXA.