Teen gymnasts show normal growth spurts

Female gymnasts may be petite, but they seem to have adolescent growth spurts similar to those of other girls, according to the results of a small study.

Researchers say the findings provide no evidence that the tough training young gymnasts go through harms their long-term growth.

The study, which followed 15 Belgian gymnasts for six to seven years, found that the girls hit their peak height velocity - commonly known as a growth spurt - about one year later than the average for non-athletes, and their growth during this period tended to be "less intense."

However, the gymnasts' growth patterns were similar to those of other short, late-maturing girls, as well as late-maturing girls with short parents, according to the findings published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Although it has been suggested that gymnasts' diminutive stature is the result of their intense training, the new findings do not support that notion, according to the study authors.

"From our data there is no evidence that a 15-hour (per week) training regimen is harmful for long-term growth," Dr. Martine Thomis of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium told Reuters Health.

Instead, said Thomis, gymnasts' short stature is probably familial. In a sport where athletes crank their bodies around into multiple mid-air rotations and balance on a beam that is mere inches wide, girls who are naturally small are more likely to excel.

The girls in the current study belonged to two prominent gymnastics clubs in Belgium and trained an average of 15 hours per week. They were between the ages of 6 and 12 at the study's start, and had their growth measured yearly over the next six to seven years.

Thomis' team found that the gymnasts did lag somewhat behind the norm for adolescent growth spurts in the Belgian population. However, they were within the norm when compared with short, non-athletic girls.

It is still possible that intense training retards gymnasts' growth and development. But to establish this, the study authors note, the effects of training will have to be separated from genetic factors.

SOURCE: Journal of Pediatrics, February 2005.