As osteoporosis often causes no symptoms at all until a fall snaps a bone, the only way to tell if you have it is via a bone-mineral density test. This procedure is advised for anyone over 50 who has suffered a fracture and all women over 65. Right now, the test involves lying on your back while the arm of a special X-ray device moves over your body to measure the thickness of various bones.

Cyberlogic, a New York research firm, has developed a simpler device that’s around 23 cm long, runs on four AA batteries and scans bones with ultrasound.

If the portable scanner proves as reliable as X-rays, it could be a breakthrough, says osteoporosis expert Dr Ethel siris. “A small device like this could make bone checkups part of routine medical visit, because it’s both affordable and user-friendly.”

If testing shows you have osteoporosis, some major advances in treatment can help. While there are several effective medications on the market, including Fosamax, Etidrate and Forteo the latest wonder drug is Boniva, the first once-a-month pill for osteoporosis. The FDA recently approved this drug, which works by reducing the activity in cells responsible for bone breakdown.

Should osteoporosis get severe enough to collapse a vertebra, doctors in the US have a new way to make repairs: two tiny baloons inserted into the bone through surgical tubes and inflated to push the bone back into its normal position. Bone cement is used to prevent it collapsing again.

By Lisa Collier Cool