Osteoporosis must clearly be due to an imbalance between the rate of new bone formation and bone resorption or destruction. Reflex sympathetic dystrophy(RSD) has been associated with acute stroke, limb trauma, traumatic spinal cord injury, and other etiologies, RSD is a well describe that include diffuse distal-limb pain, swelling, vasomotor instability, and osteoporosis. Patchy osteoporosis is the primary roentgenololgic manifestation of the RSD. To determine the bone mineral density of forearm-hand and its parameters in normal Korean adults, the forearm-hand bone of 42 males and 68 females were measured with the dual photon absorptiometry(DPA).

Peak bone mass was found at the 4th decade of both sex but was decreased with aging (P<0.05), and BMD was increased with body weight in both sex (P<0.05). The rate of loss of bone is greater in female than in male.

In conclusion, normal value of BMD of forearm-hand in normal subjects may be used in the diagnosis of RSD.