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Does Gymnastics Stunt Your Growth – Busting the Myth!

By Jay Matthews · · Updated

Young gymnast performing on the balance beam
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Photo by Martin Rulsch, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

We all know that intense gymnastics is all about the hardcore workout and competitive physical moves. It also involves maintaining a great amount of discipline as well as time managing abilities.

However, even with all the physical involvement and more concentrated lifestyle, gymnasts are often noticeably short and smaller in build. So, it must mean the whole gymnastic activity is somehow related to restricting growth factor in a gymnast.

Well, that’s a common perception of people who are not directly in involvement with gymnasts, and often times it’s due to seeing things as they are while not knowing the back story. Does gymnastics stunt your growth or is there any other underlying cause of this mystery, let’s find things out…

So Does Gymnastics Stunt Your Growth – Here’s the Truth.

This is one controversial topic that is circulating all around the world. A few people have shared their thoughts that possibly because of intensive training sessions at a very young age, puberty gets a bit delayed. And that may stunt growth.

However, a University of Saskatchewan team led by Marta Erlandson studied elite adolescent female gymnasts, swimmers, and tennis players. They took repeated measurements of 222 athletes between ages 8 and 19 and recorded adult height for a subsample.

The 2008 study found that gymnasts were shorter than the swimmers and tennis players throughout adolescence and reached their first period later. Yet there was no significant difference in adult height, and the tempo of maturation was similar once the girls were matched by biological age.

A 2013 review for the International Gymnastics Federation reached the same conclusion: intensive training does not compromise adult height in female or male artistic gymnasts. So, there’s no good evidence that gymnastics training stunts growth. Then why is the most gymnast so short if there’s no such connection. Well, possible reason that makes more sense is what will be our discussion for the next para.

A. The Actual Reason Behind Most Gymnasts Being Short.

Taller kids who get into gymnastics are more likely to have a hard time with it. And as a result, it may make them more prone to drop out or look into other suitable sports. For example, swimming. So that they can be more successful at a suitable sport that goes with their build. Unlike gymnastics that prefer kids with a short body.

And this is one good reason why young female athletes often gets selected in a high-level sports team on the basis of their physique, size, and skill. Athletes without this mold fitting ability often can’t enter the high-level training in particular.

And during this selection process, subconsciously the body size is coming into play from very beginning. Parents without even knowing guides their children at pursuing a sport that is more suitable to their physique and the one they’ll be naturally better at.

However, that does not mean taller girls can’t do gymnastics or a short person is unfit for swimming. It’s just that, during the selection process, this is how coaches, parents, and other involved people take decision. The smaller size of a gymnast actually takes place even before training starts. Because in this sport, the smaller you’re, better chance you have to easily move your body.

B. Does Training Affect the Body Though?

Those who have a concern about stunt growth might also want to know whether training has any bad impact on the body. Perhaps you are a parent thinking of sending your daughter to one of the gymnastic training but can’t decide due to less idea. Well, this segment should help you a bit.

Usually, people would want to know about long term bone density and if it has an impact from weight-bearing. You may also wonder about the effect on the lungs and heart. In adolescent athletes, strenuous activity actually results in enhanced development. During childhood and adolescence, regular training can be a great way to enhance bone mineral content as well as the mass. And gymnastics involves weight-bearing moves a lot similar to running and soccer.

Research also suggests that weight-bearing sports before and during puberty help build bone mass, which may carry benefits into adulthood. It’s an opportune time to build a physique suitable for activities and sports.

The main concern is overuse injury in young athletes. Lower back stress injuries are common in gymnasts. Repeated stress on growing bones can also injure growth plates, especially at the wrist, and can lead to stress fractures in places such as the ankle, elbow, and knee.

Outdoor Speak: If you think gymnastics is limited to floor exercises and parallel bars, then think again! Gymnastics helps keep the body flexible and nimble so that it could do perform at its peak level. American football is one example where gymnastics is essential especially when catching a ball. Read our post to learn more: Catch A Football One-Handed.

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Wrap Up

So now you know: research doesn't show that gymnastics stunts your growth. Gymnasts tend to be shorter because the sport selects for smaller bodies, and many are simply late bloomers who catch up by adulthood. Don’t assume he or she is experiencing any negative affect from overtraining or dangerous physical involvement. Try to look into things from a different perspective. The below-average size might just be an opportunity that will contribute in near future for his or her success in this sport.

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