Question
A ten-year-old girl has a significantly lower height than her peers and has been diagnosed with short stature by the hospital. How should short stature be treated?
Answer
The treatment of short stature primarily involves two main categories. Firstly, lifestyle adjustments can be made to promote the child’s height growth, such as encouraging participation in appropriate exercises like running, jumping, reaching for heights, swimming, basketball, and dancing. These activities help stimulate height growth. For some children, even after lifestyle interventions, they may still not reach the desired height. In such cases, it should be considered to use growth hormone therapy for treatment. Growth hormone therapy for the treatment of short stature has been proven to be safe and effective. Therefore, if a child is diagnosed with short stature and lifestyle interventions cannot improve their final height, it is advisable to use growth hormone therapy under the guidance of a physician as early as possible.