LONGITUDINAL HEIGHT VELOCITY DURING ADOLESCENCE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO SPORTS INJURY / 体力科学

ABSTRACT

Purpose: We compared longitudinal height velocity between subjects with Osgood Schlatter Disease (OSD) and those with other chronic lower leg diseases (LD) group involving the knee in order to examine the utility of this velocity as an indicator of bone axis development.Method: Subjects included 92 adult men who have played organized sports. Height values at 9 to 15 years of age were individually approximated by fitting 6-degree polynomial functions. Each polynomial function was differentiated to be led the height velocity curve. Timing of growth spurt and values of height velocity in the OSD and LD group were compared to those in a normal (N) group.Results: Peak height velocity (PHV) was accelerated in the OSD group compared to the LD group. When individual velocity curves were aligned by age of peak height velocity (PHA), the average height velocity in the OSD group was higher than that in the N group at 0.8 years after PHA. Furthermore, when the averaged velocity curve of each group was shifted based on the average PHA, the height velocity in the OSD group was significantly greater than that in the N group at ages 11.6–12.5 years. However the height velocity in the LD group was greater at ages 10.6–10.8 years and 13.3–14.0 years, smaller at ages 11.8–12.3 years than that in the N group.Conclusion: Subjects with OSD may possess higher height velocity than normal individuals before PHA. Conversely, subjects with LD seem to be related to other complicated factors.