Sage-Tips

Am I still growing if my wrist growth plates are closed?

As kids grow, the growth plates harden into solid bone. A growth plate that has completely hardened into solid bone is a closed growth plate. After a growth plate closes, the bones are no longer growing.

Do all growth plates in a body close at the same time?

Typically, girls’ growth plates close when they’re about 14-15 years old on average. Boys’ growth plates close by around the time they turn 16-17 on average. This occurs earlier in some individuals and later in others. Also, different bones growth plates close at different times.

Where are the growth plates in your legs?

Growth plates, also called physes or epiphyseal plates, are discs of cartilage present in growing children. They are located between the middle and the end of the long bones, such as the bones of the arms and legs. Most long bones have one growth plate at each end.

In what order do your growth plates close?

The growth plates in the knees generally close at about the same time as the ones in the wrist. The usual progression of fusion of growth plates is elbow first, then foot and ankle, then hand and wrist, then knee, then hip and pelvis, and last the shoulder and clavicle.

How long after puberty do growth plates close?

Their growth plates usually fuse, or close around ages 13 to 15, while boys’ epiphyseal plates close later, at around ages 15 to 17. The reason for this difference is that a girl’s puberty typically starts about 2 years earlier than a boy’s.

How do you know if I can still grow taller?

Look for signs of growth.

• Short pant legs are an easy way to tell that you must be growing. If the jeans you used to have to roll up now make you look like you’re ready for a flood, it may be time to take a height measurement (as well as buy some new jeans).
• Foot growth is another likely sign of height growth.

How many inches is a growth spurt?

Kids get taller more quickly during growth spurts, times when their bodies grow fast — as much as 4 inches or more in a year during puberty, for example!

What does it mean if my growth plates are almost closed?

, Pediatrician (1977-present) The standard for evaluating a wrist X-ray is to report the result in terms of a “bone age”. Saying that the “growth plates are almost closed” is not very useful as there are no standards to compare this to. The Bone Age does a pretty good job of predicting how many years of growth are left.

What does an almost closed growth plate mean on a wrist X-ray?

The standard for evaluating a wrist X-ray is to report the result in terms of a “bone age”. Saying that the “growth plates are almost closed” is not very useful as there are no standards to compare this to. The Bone Age does a pretty good job of predicting how many years of growth are left. The average boy is pretty much done growing by age 17.

When do the growth plates close during adolescence?

Sometimes, during the adolescence, our body growth is incomplete. This is during this phase when the growth plates are closed and are replaced by solid bone. However, it is difficult to say exactly when each growth plates close because different bones stop growing at different times.

What are growth plates in bones?

Growth plates are zones of cartilage at each end of our long bones (femur, tibia, etc.), explains David E. Attarian, MD, a joint replacement orthopaedic surgeon at Duke. These bones grow by the contribution of new bone from the growth plate.