Last updated on September 24, 2020
Question:
Hello,
I have a question regarding height and my development. I’m a 17-year-old male, my hands seem very small for my size, I’m 5’6, my dad’s 6’0, and my moms 5’7. I have some scraggly facial hair, chest hair, pubic hair, and very few armpit hairs. The Tanner Stage Calculator said I was a 3.2. My pubes aren’t very thick and dark, and my chest hair is fairly long and dark. I went to the doctor because I thought I had broken my ankle, (it wasn’t broken, just a sprain) but he said my growth plate was closed. I’m worried because I took prohormones once and I read later that it could possibly cause stunted growth. I just want to know if I will grow any more? I’ve grown 1.5 inches in the past two years. And I’ve never really had an actual growth spurt. Am I going to stay this short forever?
Please get back to me as soon as possible.
Answer:
If the doctor is correct (doctors can be mistaken at times) and your growth plates are closed, then you will not be growing any more. There is no way to reopen closed growth plates. How long ago was it that you saw the doctor? Have you grown any since then?
Chest hair is a sign that you’ve reached stage 5. Regarding the other secondary characteristics, it is hard for me to make any comments because I can’t see you. What you consider to be little may be your normal. However, things like hair continue to develop long past reaching stage 5.
Regarding height, something unusual did happen because most boys, at a minimum, reach their parent’s average height, which would be 5’9″ for you. Since I don’t know what hormones you took, I can’t verify whether they impacted growth, but in general, it is never good to experiment with drugs without a doctor watching. It could be that something else affected your growth that you didn’t notice, but it isn’t something easily determined after the fact.