[Growth parameters of female athletes during periods of high training load].

Abstract

Studies of children participating in elite sport training programmes revealed growth disorders. Longitudinal analyses of female gymnasts (whose bone age was distinctly below chronological age) over a period of two years do not suggest a general tendency to growth inhibition. However, the marked variation in the longitudinal data may indicate retardation in individual cases. An evaluation of the growth parameters is of practical importance for the medical care of children participating in intensive training programmes.