Last updated on August 29, 2020
Question:
Hey. I just turned 16 last week, and I am 5 ft. 4. I am a male. When I was younger I was very short, and I got my bone age done when I was fifteen and it said that I was 13 years old. So I just turned 16, but my bone age is that of a 14-year-old. I was 4 ft. 9 inches during June of 2010 so I have grown 7 inches in like 14 months. I checked the calculator and it said that I was at stage 3.8 or 3.9. I was wondering whether or not I would still grow or if I was done. My dad is 5 ft. 9 and my mom is 5 ft. 4 1/2. I’m really concerned, should I take growth hormones or something like that?
Answer:
Both a bone age of 14 and a 3.8 on the Tanner scale indicates that you are on the tail end of your rapid growth spurt. You are not done growing until you reach Tanner stage 5. You probably have another 3 inches or so of growth left. That would put you in the normal range for a male (take the average of your parent’s height and a typical male will be that size or up to 10 inches taller).
Growth hormones only work if your problem is too little growth hormone in your body. Getting extra when your body is already making enough won’t make you grow more. It is an extremely expensive hormone that has to be administered by a doctor. In addition to all of this, growth hormone won’t reopen closed plates. Once you get past your growth period and your growth plates close down, they cannot be reopened.