Can playing basketball make someone tall

Basketball is normally associated with taller people. From NBA players such as Yao Ming- who stands at 7”6(2.26 meters) to Manute Bol, who was 7”7”(2.31 meters), and even high school basketball players who average 5”9 across the US, the list of tall basketball players is endless. The question many people ask is; what relationship(if any) does basketball have with height?. There is no official requirement that basketball players should be of a certain height, however, many of them are tall. Is playing basketball the reason for their height? and if so, can playing basketball make someone tall?. The only way to find out is to go through facts both medical and from research in order to better understand this phenomenon.

What The Researchers Say:

Researchers believe there is a direct relationship between height and basketball, there are several arguments that support this proposition. First, it is argued that constant jumping is the main reason basketball increases height. The continuous act of jumping increases the electric flow of body current to the brain which stimulates the growth hormone resulting in increased height. Basketball is a game synonymous with constant jumping in between play.

Secondly, the constant jumping in basketball increases the flow of blood to crucial body parts such as the legs and spine. Jumping momentarily suspends the body in the air followed by compression when the person lands, this act, when done repeatedly, improves the blood flow to the growth plates found in the spine and in legs resulting to increased height. When repeated over a period of time, the results in height increase are bound to be noticeable.

There is further argument that playing basketball has a direct impact on HGH levels in the body, HGH is the hormone that is responsible for increased height. Constant jumping and running involved in basketball combined with intake of highly nutritious food increase the body’s secretion of the height increasing HGH. Increased HGH results to increased height.

Basketball is a game that involves constant training, consider also that basketball players are generally tall which is a trait they genetically inherit. It is thought that the constant training stimulates the height gene by causing a chain of reactions in the body that make this gene more visible, the result is increased height.

Medical Opinion:

There is no official medical report that shows any direct link between height and playing basketball. However, health professionals believe that the constant exercise involved in basketball can benefit the body and increase growth in all aspects including height. There is, however, the fact that constant exercise in all sports, and not only basketball, will result in increased growth. For this reason, there still is no medical relationship between height and playing basketball.

Doctors have a common agreement that there is no remedy for shortness. Short people have to live with the condition for the rest of their lives. There is no amount of physical exercise or any conventional drug that has the ability to increase height in an individual, this being the case, basketball cannot be treated as an exception, it cannot increase your height, The overall doctor opinion is that playing basketball cannot make a person taller.

Conclusion:

Considering all the above factors, the conclusion is that basketball cannot increase an individuals height. Basketball players are tall not because they play the game, but because they have the genetic composition for being tall. Playing the game is just a bonus, it is the bonus that provides conducive conditions in which the genes and hormones in these individuals thrive. The most logical conclusion would be that basketball players are naturally tall, playing the game has only a slight impact on their height.

Finally, there’s the fact that there are several research findings and some seemingly logical explanations in associating playing basketball with height. However, the lack of a professional doctor approval of the existence of such a relationship puts doubt on the legitimacy of the findings of the afro-mentioned research. Mere data that is not backed by any professional medical opinion cannot be relied on to provide the basis upon which this matter can be settled, the only logical conclusion is that; there is no cure for shortness and most importantly, playing basketball does make a person taller, it’s all about the genetic composition of the individual.