Biological Age

[pcarnette]

Hi all.

I have seen referenced made to a child's biological vs chronological age many times on this forum, but how does one determine a child's biological age? Is there a relatively simply way to do this?

[The Uncoach]

A bone scan (x-ray) of the hand.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/medical/xray_bone_age.html

[tg643]

Does it matter? Just enjoy the game. They all hit puberty eventually. I found how hard my kids had to work at being fundamentaly sound when they were behind the curve made them better players when they reached puberty.

There isn't a simple way to determine physical age. A pediatrician or orthopedic surgeon can tell with x-rays and looking at growth plates. When my son was twelve a friend (a pediatrician) said he had the face of a ten year old. That's hardly scientific and precise. When he was a high school senior he had x-rays relating to surgery. He was told his growth plates are still open and he's likely to grow for two more years.

[pcarnette]

A bone scan (x-ray) of the hand.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/..._bone_age.html

Thanks!

Does it matter? Just enjoy the game. They all hit puberty eventually. I found how hard my kids had to work at being fundamentaly sound when they were behind the curve made them better players when they reached puberty.

There isn't a simple way to determine physical age. A pediatrician or orthopedic surgeon can tell with x-rays and looking at growth plates. When my son was twelve a friend (a pediatrician) said he had the face of a ten year old. That's hardly scientific and precise. When he was a high school senior he had x-rays relating to surgery. He was told his growth plates are still open and he's likely to grow for two more years.

I asked mainly because I was curious, but I thought it might be beneficial to know when an activitiy, like strength training for example, would be age-appropriate.

I definitely agree with the selection I bolded. In the two years since my nine year-old really started taking baseball seriously, he's made tremendous mechanical improvements. Very little has come easy for him, but I see that it has resulted in a level of dedication from him that I don't see in most of his rec friends/peers.

[tg643]

There's all kinds of debate on this one. My kids started light weight training under the supervision of their mother, a certified personal trainer before they hit puberty. It wouldn't have occured had it not been free. They didn't do full on weight training until high school. Even then it was for strength and agility not bulk. The bulk will come from weight training when they hit their late teens.

[Dirtberry]

pcarnette,

“I have seen referenced made to a child's biological vs chronological age many times on this forum”

This forum (the practitioners) has discussed at length the tenets of Dr. Mike Marshall who wrote his doctoral dissertation on the subject. Dr. Marshall through the work of Dr. Joel Adams (orthopedic surgeon) with his first of the kind and extensive bi-lateral x-ray study on youth pitchers discovered why most pitching injuries occur that led to Dr. Marshalls tenets on pronation verses supination that effect the elbow and it's pathologies. Dr. Marshall is currently doing his own x-ray study of youth pitchers to determine if his non-injurious pitching motion as he expects also perturbs bone growth. He is accepting anyone who wishes to participate regardless of mechanical leanings and will keep you informed on any changes for free, all you have to do is have the x-rays taken on their chronological birthdays once a year until they solidify. Well worth the effort considering the free advice from this expert.

This information is critical when putting together training timelines with regards to increased stress and annual duration in youth pitchers or throwers. Any overstress from ballistic activities increases the risk of bone deformation and potential growth that can never be regained once lost.

“how does one determine a child's biological age? Is there a relatively simply way to do this?”

There are many outwards anecdotal signs like voice change, leg hair coarseness, facial hair, pubic/arm pit hair and more but the best way is to take x-rays of both side arms from the mid forearm to the upper shoulder, posterior and anterior.

All you need to know can be found here:

http://www.drmikemarshall.com/ChapterFour.html