BodyBuilding/WeightLifting Stunts Growth

[James432213]

What do you guys think about the claim that BodyBuilding/Weight Lifting stuns ones vertical height and thus affecting their maximum potential height.

 

Is there any evidence agaisnt this claim?

I keep reading theres no evidence that lifting weights stunts or hinders vertical growth but is this the same as "we have evidence that lifting weights does not = stunted growth?"

Is there any study that shows people that have lifted weights through their teens (b4 and after puberty) and compared their heights to people that have not lifted weights (b4 and after puberty)

 

Only through evidence like this could we draw a real conclusion?

 

Aswell people say you can have stunted growth if you damage a growth plate. But woulnd't that just make the limb containing that growth plate to be defected. i.e crooked or shorter limb? Which doesn't effect the rest of your body, growth plates and thus doesn't really effect overall vertical height?

[drizzt]

Personally, I think it is a myth.  I started weight training at 13 years old and continued on to grow another foot or so.  My brothers (who didn't start training as early as I did) are the same height as I am, and we're all a foot or so taller than our parents.

I have a mate who I went to school with who trained with me in my early teens, and he grew taller than I did.

You could probably find people in the same situation as I was who didn't grow very tall - I don't think lifting weights is to blame.

[HumanPerformance]

Its a myth...

 

[Leeroid]

If you lift excessively (volume and/or weight used) in a way to cause damage to the growth plates, there may be a possibility of stunting growth. A child's growth can be stunted by the following causes:

 

Growth plate injuries - Growth plate injuries can occur in growing children and adolescents. In a child, a serious injury to a joint is more likely to damage a growth plate than the ligaments that stabilize the joint. Trauma that would cause a sprain in an adult might cause a growth plate fracture in a child. Most growth plate fractures occur in the long bones of the fingers (phalanges) and the outer bone of the forearm (radius). They are also common in the lower bones of the leg (the tibia and fibula). Fractures can result from a single traumatic event, such as a fall or a blow to the limb, or from chronic stress and overuse. For example, a gymnast who practices for hours on the uneven bars, a long-distance runner, and a baseball pitcher perfecting his curve ball can all have growth plate injuries. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Growth_Plate_Injuries/default.asp#3

 

Inadequate nutrition - Exercise will increase nutritional requirements, particularly protein. Malnourishment will result in stunted growth. This is evidenced by the fact that the current generation is significantly taller than their parents. This is particularly evident in countries like South Korea and Japan where there has been considerable economic development in recent times. This means that the current generation is consuming adequate macronutrients whereas the parents would have been on a deficient diet (particularly in protein) while growing up. It is not uncommon to see families where the child is taller than 6ft yet both parents are under 5'6 or so. If genetics were solely the limiting factor, this would not be possible.

 

 

There are plenty of people out there that started lifting weights before puberty and have grown to become 6 foot plus. There have been a few studies performed on this topic:

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17119361

RESULTS:

Experimental programs most often used isotonic machines and free weights, 2- and 3-day protocols, and 8- and 12-week durations, with significant improvements in muscular strength during childhood and early adolescence. Strength gains were lost during detraining. Experimental resistance training programs did not influence growth in height and weight of pre- and early-adolescent youth, and changes in estimates of body composition were variable and quite small. Only 10 studies systematically monitored injuries, and only three injuries were reported. Estimated injury rates were 0.176, 0.053, and 0.055 per 100 participant-hours in the respective programs.

CONCLUSION:

Experimental training protocols with weights and resistance machines and with supervision and low instructor/participant ratios are relatively safe and do not negatively impact growth and maturation of pre- and early-pubertal youth.

 

 

http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Weightlifting/YouthMisconceptions.html

Epiphyseal plate (growth plate) fractures may be the key concern in this controversy. Damage to these plates induced by weight training is frequently cited as a reason for avoiding weight training in children. The existing medical and scientific data do not support this as a valid contraindication. One instance of epiphyseal fracture attributed to weightlifting has been reported in preadolescents (Gumbs, 1982). In pubescent athletes, five publications have reported instances of fractures related to weight training (Benton, 1983; Brady, 1982; Gumbs, 1982; Rowe, 1979; Ryan, 1976). The overwhelming majority of these injuries were attributed to improper technique in the execution of the exercises and excessive loading. Each report failed to consider that the injury may actually have occurred as a result of contact with the floor or other object subsequent to loss of balance and falling, and not be attributable to the actual weight training movement. Further, proper diagnosis and treatment of this rare injury resulted in no detrimental effect on growth (Caine, 1990).

It has also been noted that weight training does not interfere with growth by other means (Ramsey, 1990; Sailors, 1987; Seigel, 1989; Weltman, 1986). Research reviewed by Theintz (1994) seems to suggest that sport training for less than 15 hours per week was not disruptive to hormonal status, growth or puberty.

 

 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jbmr.5650090317/pdf

Summarized, the present investigation showed that exercise has

a positive effect in attainment of peak bone mass, an effect that is
preserved during maturation and consolidation of bone mass. We
also found a positive effect on femoral neck bone strength. This
gain of bone strength may be due partly to an increased bone mass
and partly to an earlier maturation of the skeleton.

 

 

I think the origin of this myth came from the fact that most bodybuilders that we know are short. I think there are a couple of reasons for this, the first being that shorter people need to put on comparatively less muscle in order to fill out their frame compared to a taller person. This makes it easier for them to look bigger and they would probably see results quicker which would be encouraging thus shorter people are more likely to stick with bodybuilding. Whereas a taller person is more likely to be discouraged and give up.

 

It's just like saying doing gymnastics will stunt your growth because all top gymnasts are very short. Gymnasts that grow too tall are going to be weeded out since they are at a significant disadvantage as they cannot generate the significant amount of centrifugal force that is needed at the advanced level of gymnastics due to their excessive body mass.

 

I think this is also where the idea that swimming will make you taller came from too. Taller people have bigger limbs which will provide more leverage against the water therefore the top swimmers are going to be taller specimens. Sort of similar to Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. 

 

The second reason that I can think of is the fact that shorter people are more likely to have self esteem issues, whether consciously or subconsciously. I'd like to quote Markus Ruhl "I couldn't get any taller, so I became wider". Shorter people want to be 'big' more than a taller person who is already 'big' regardless of whether he's skinny or not. So they are more likely to be dedicated towards their goals of putting on muscle. Just a bit of psychology there. 

 

 

[James432213]

Thanks for the finds leeroid.

In regards to growth plate fractures it doesn't matter if you completely crush say your right knee, all your other bones would still grow to their maximum length, yes?

[ngapuhi strong]

Thanks for the finds leeroid.

In regards to growth plate fractures it doesn't matter if you completely crush say your right knee, all your other bones would still grow to their maximum length, yes?

not true. at 14 i was involved in a serious car crash. 12 fractures in right anlkle . broke right tib. broke left tib and right femur and orbital blow out of right eye socket. my surgin informed me six months later that the shock and damage id done had caused all my growth plates to close over. im 5ft7 arms didnt carry on growing or look out of porportion. my brother and father are both 6ft