Diagnosis
During the physical exam, your doctor will examine areas of your body that are causing you pain. He or she may also order X-rays and blood tests that can help confirm the diagnosis of Paget’s disease of bone.
Testing
Imaging Tests
Bone changes common to Paget’s disease of bone can be revealed by:
- X-rays. The first indication of Paget’s disease of bone is often abnormalities found on X-rays done for other reasons. X-ray images of your bones can show areas of bone resorption, enlargement of the bone and deformities that are characteristic of Paget’s disease of bone, such as bowing of your long bones.
- Bone scan. In a bone scan, radioactive material is injected into your body. This material travels to the spots on your bones most affected by Paget’s disease of bone, so they light up on the scan images.
Lab tests
People who have Paget’s disease of bone usually have elevated levels of alkaline phosphatase in their blood, which can be revealed by a blood test.Ā Patients who have a very small area of involved bone may have a normal test but a bone scan may be abnormal.