ACCURATE MEASUREMENTS OF THE LOWER LEG LENGTH AND THE ULNAR LENGTH AND ITS APPLICATION IN SHORT-TERM GROWTH MEASUREMENT

  • 1 January 1983
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 47  (1) , 53-66
Abstract
A new method of lower leg measurements for determination of endochondral growth was described, which is quite different from the techniques commonly utilized. Endochondral growth of the lower leg can now be detected after 1 wk provided growth is at least 0.15 mm. Results of the lower leg measurement were compared with those of ulnar length measurements in a 4-mo. longitudinal growth study on 21 normally growing children. Apparently, the new lower leg length measuring technique, with a margin or error in hundreds of millimeters, is even more sensitive than the ulnar length measuring technique and a substantial improvement over conventional measuring methods in which the error is commonly expressed in millimeters. The new technique is especially suited for the assessment of short-term growth in children whose ulnar length can not be measured accurately enough. Short-term growth can now be followed in children from about the age of 2 yr without using X-rays. This new technique permits the following: short-term growth studies; studies of drug effects on the tibia in single individuals within short time intervals; comparison of the growth in length of the lower leg and the ulna within time intervals as short as 3 wk; studies of biorhythms of the lower leg length.