How old does a girl grow?

During puberty, the key feature of girls' sexual development is menarche. The age of menarche varies greatly, generally between 10 and 16 years old. In the past, people often thought that girls would not grow much taller after their first menstruation. In fact, this is not the case. After the first menstruation, there is still a slow growth in height for 1-3 years, and the degree of increase varies depending on the age of menstruation.

From the time a girl's menarche is reached, her growth and development is basically complete. During this period, she can grow up to 8-10 cm tall. When small, it is only 1-2 centimeters. The key lies in the growth and development level of human tubular bones.

When a girl has her first menstruation, the degree of fusion of the metaphyseal bones of the second and third phalanges of her fingers is closely related to her future height growth potential. That is, the lower the degree of fusion of the metaphyseal bones of these two fingers during the first menstruation, the greater her height growth potential; conversely, the higher the degree of fusion, the smaller her future height growth potential.

Take an X-ray of the finger bones after the girl's menarche (within a dozen days), and then identify the epiphyseal fusion level of the II and III distal phalanges. If there is a gap in the middle of the metaphysis (-), that is, it is not fused, then the girl can grow 8cm or more; for example, if a girl is 150cm tall at menarche, and the metaphysis of her II and III finger vertebrae are only partially fused (+), then she has a good chance of reaching 157cm tall as an adult; if a girl is 155cm tall at menarche, but the metaphysis of her II and III finger vertebrae are completely fused, and the epiphyseal lines have receded (+++), then her adult height is mostly around 158cm.

Why is the degree of epiphyseal fusion of a girl's small technical skeleton during her first menstruation related to her future height? This is because the growth and development of each part of the body are controlled by the neuroendocrine system. Girls' menarche and bone hyperplasia are affected by several types of endocrine hormones at the same time, which makes the measurement of bone age and sexual development have a certain time correspondence, and the degree of bone perfection is closely related to the potential size of height growth.