• Your child has any abnormal weight gain or weight loss?
• Is these more than 5 pounds in a month?
• Is your child not growing well? Are he/she having loss of appetite?

MAY BE YOUR CHILD HAS SHORT STATURE…

Concept of Short Stature?

A child’s rate of growth is important. Human height or stature is the distance from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head in a human body, standing straight. Short stature is defined as height that is two standard deviations below the mean height for age and sex. Pubertal growth, because of its distinct features, must be analysed differently from the relatively slow pre-pubertal growth. The age at take-off is highly variable and sex-dependent. The (peak height velocity) PHV is highest in early-maturing children and lowest in late-maturing children. The treatment of short children who are not deficient in growth hormone is predicated on the widespread belief that being taller improves children’s psychological wellbeing. Moreover, it is thought that increased height will reduce or eliminate their risk status for the development of problems as adults.

In a boy: Mid-parental height (cm) = [Father’s height + (Mother’s height + 13)] divided by 2.

In a girl: Mid-parental height (cm) = [(Father’s height – 13) + Mother’s height] divided by 2.

Symptoms of Short stature

Some symptoms may signal a medical condition causing short stature. The following symptoms should be further investigated by your doctor or health care practitioner:

• Child has stopped growing or is growing slower than expected (less than 4 cm, or 2 in, each year in the pre-pubertal child of elementary school age)
• Weight loss or gain (more than 5 lbs in a month)
• Poor nutrition/loss of appetite
• Delayed puberty (absent breast development by age 14 or absent menstrual spotting by age 15 for a girl or absent enlargement of the testes by age 14 for a boy); note that the presence or absence of pubic hair is not a reliable sign of pubertal development

Causes of Short Stature

Human Growth Hormone (rhGH) Deficiency: HGH which stimulate the growth. HGH deficiency may occur at any time during infancy or childhood, with the most obvious sign being a noticeable slowing of growth.

Cushing’s syndrome (Cortisol, Stress, and Hormone Excess): This very rare disorder, caused by too much cortisol (an adrenal gland hormone) in the system, is characterized by an increase in body weight while height remains constant.

Hypothyroidism: low function gf thyroid gland is known as hypothyroidism which leads to Growth retardation, inactive behaviour, tongue enlargement, facial changes, thickened and puffy face and skin and a wide variety of neurological abnormalities.

Nutritional Short Stature: Malnutrition is the most common cause of growth failure around the world, primarily due to lack of protein and other basic nutrients ion the diet.

Achondroplasia: The most common form of disproportionate growth retardation, achondroplasia is recognizable at birth and after the 24th week of pregnancy using ultrasound.

Poor Nutrition and Systemic Diseases: There are many diseases and disorders that can cause short stature and growth failure. Nutritional deficiencies will cause poor growth eventually – a balanced diet with adequate calories and protein is essential for growth.

Bone Disorders: One form of extreme short stature is caused by abnormal formation and growth of cartilage and bone. Children with a skeletal dysplasia, or chondrodystrophy, are short and have abnormal body proportions; intelligence is normal.

Allopathic Medications for Short Stature

Common medications available: Anabolic steroids (Oxandrolone), IGF-I, GnRHanalogs (GnRHa), and aromatase inhibitors are the medications available for the treatment of short stature in children. Now a days, surgical technique is employed as a leg-lengthening process, known as distraction involves breaking the leg bone and fixing it to a special frame. This is gradually adjusted every day to lengthen the bone.

Ayurvedic Treatment for Short Stature

There is a certain age at which people usually stop to grow: men (25), women (21). It occurs shortly after puberty, but these numbers can be changed. However, it is possible to continue growing until 25 years old for women and 27-30 years old for men. Spinal column is fundamental for growth of bones in human body. In order to ensure that the vertebrae and the cushions function properly, the backbone should be massaged daily with either ashwagandhadi oil, lakshadi oil or bala oil. Combination of various herbs like guduchi, ashwagandha, shatavari, amla, guggul, lakshaand many more helps to increase the thickness of the intervertebral discs and at the same time provides necessary calcium supplement and nutrition, which not only strengthens the bones but also helps in development and growth of the entire body and keeps health issues at bay. Regular yoga makes body helps to secrete several growth hormones needed for growth of bones. Some of the yogas effective for increasing height are: Parvatasan,Vajrasan, Surya namaskar (sun salutes),Tadasan, simple supported backbends, and simple reclining twists.