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Can Sports Like Basketball or Swimming Make You Taller?

sports that increase height
Key Takeaways
  • Genetics determines most of your final height, and there’s little change once growth plates close.
  • Sports like basketball and swimming don’t increase height but support overall growth and posture.
  • Physical activity in kids boosts growth hormone release and helps with body alignment.
  • Stretching, jumping, and good posture can make you appear taller and more confident.
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Many people often think that shooting hoops or gliding through water adds inches to your frame. Well, this is a question that many aspiring athletes, as well as their parents, often ponder. Basically, this is a common belief that people think that certain sports like basketball increase height and swimming often hold a key to a taller stature. This widespread notion suggests that engaging in activities like these, especially during those crucial growth years, can somehow unlock a hidden height potential.

However, this belief is not just confined to only swimming or basketball, but even gymnastics or other jumping sports that increase height. The allure of adding even a few extra centimeters can be powerful, which leads individuals towards a specific sport with the hope of influencing their ultimate height. However, it’s still a question of how much truth lies behind these popular assumptions, which will be discussed in the later sections of this blog.

Understanding What Determines Your Height
Our total human height is a complex measurement, which is not measured simply by the length of any one single bone but is basically a cumulative sum that is determined by the three main components – the length of our bones, the structure of our spine, and even our posture. As discussed earlier, the bones of our legs particularly contribute to our height from the waist to down. Our posture plays a very keen role in how we present our height. Even with strong bones and a healthy spine, poor posture can make us look shorter by causing slouching and unnatural curves.

Genetics as the Primary Factor (60-80% of Final Height)

Genetic inheritance is one of the most significant determinants, accounting for a substantial 60-80% of your final adult height. It works when you inherit a combination of genes from both your parents, which collectively influences various aspects of growth including the production of growth hormones, the length of your bones, and even the timing of growth spurts.

Role of Environmental Factors - Nutrition, Sleep, and Physical Activity

While genetics provides the blueprint, environmental factors act like the construction crew and materials.
  1. Nutrition – Nutrition is mainly the building material in the body. Intake of a balanced diet that is rich in essential vitamins, minerals, and proteins provides the necessary fuel to the body for healthy bone development and healthy overall growth. If there’s any nutrient deficiency in the body, especially during the growth years of childhood, there are chances that it will hinder your body from reaching its genetic height potential.
  2. Sleep – While you’re in deep sleep, your body releases human growth hormone (HGH), which is a key hormone that is responsible for stimulating growth, especially in children and adolescents. On the contrary, chronic sleep deprivation can negatively impact HGH secretion, potentially impeding the process of growth.
  3. Physical Activity – Although no specific sports activity has a direct relation with adding an extra centimeter to your height, general physical activities contribute to overall healthy development, and lead to optimal growth. When you exercise daily, it not only strengthens your bones but at the same time keeps your muscles intact, improving overall circulation.

Basketball is one of the prime sports activities that is universally known to be associated with height. It is because it requires constant jumping exercises for height, stretching, and grabbing rebounds. Many people believe that such repetitive and vertical movements aid in stimulating growth plates and even decompress the spine, leading to a permanent increase in stature.

Furthermore, people also believe that swimming is another sports activity which increases height. The long, sweeping strokes, especially in styles like breaststroke are thought to stretch out the limbs, leading to a taller appearance or even actual growth.

Basketball and Height Growth - Myth or Reality?
The idea behind playing basketball with an assumption in mind that it may make you taller is perhaps one of the most enduring and hence most widely believed myths regarding sports and height. Moreover, it is common that you’d hear your parents encourage their children to indulge in playing basketball, hoping that it would add crucial inches to their stature.
However, this understanding is flawed. Why? As discussed, height is primarily determined by genetics and the lengthening of the bones at the growth plates. After an individual hits puberty, these growth plates tend to fade away, and then at that point, no amount of jumping or even stretching would add to the length of your long bones.
Swimming & Height Growth: The Reality Check
Just like people connect basketball with the direct link for an increase in height; swimming and height development is another aspect that is often cited as a sport that can contribute increasingly to height. This is the most common belief that stems from the feeling of weightlessness in water and also the elongated movements of different strokes. However, just like basketball, the direct link between swimming and actual height increase is largely a misconception.
When you indulge in physical activities on a regular basis, it obviously contributes to the optimal release of Human Growth Hormone (HGH). This is basically secreted naturally by the pituitary gland, especially at deep sleep times in response to the exercise. Hence, consistently indulging in swimming, which is a good form of exercise, would aid in supporting the body’s natural processes, including hormone regulation which is conducive to healthy growth.

Well, even with the best intentions and even with the most rigorous training, the biological reality after puberty is that height growth, particularly the lengthening of the bones, is no longer possible. It is because of a crucial biological event of growth spurt. As an individual goes through puberty, there’s a surge in the sex hormones which signals the growth plates that are located at the ends of long bones, to harden and fuse completely into solid bone.

As soon as these growth plates have been closed, typically by the age of 13-15 for females and 15-17 for males, the bones can no longer increase in length. Well, at this point particularly, your “adult height” is set. Hence, it won’t matter how intensely you indulge in physical activities such as basketball or swimming, as you cannot infuse your skeletal growth any further.
Although the desire for an increase in height often derives interest in various physical activities like basketball and swimming, the most crucial takeaway is to play for health and not just for height. It is scientifically clear that genetics are overwhelmingly the dominant factor in determining an individual’s final adult height.

There isn’t a specific “best” age to start sports for height maximisation; consistent, varied physical activity throughout childhood and adolescence is most beneficial. This holistic approach, combined with good nutrition and sleep, optimises your body’s ability to reach its genetically predetermined height. The focus should be on overall healthy development rather than a magical age or sport.

You might encounter online claims about exercises or stretches increasing height after growth plate closure, but these are not scientifically effective for true bone lengthening. While some methods might offer temporary spinal decompression, this does not result in a permanent increase in height. Once growth plates fuse, a significant height increase is only possible through complex and risky surgical procedures.

Coaches prioritise height in sports like basketball and volleyball because it provides a significant competitive advantage, not because the sport makes players taller. Taller individuals naturally have a longer reach and better vantage points, which are invaluable assets for success in these specific games. Therefore, coaches select players who already possess these beneficial physical attributes.

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