Study in Journal of Athletic Training (2007)

“Gary” was a promising junior soccer player who was the youngest in his team and spent his weekends travelling to inter-school matches. But between ages 14 to 16 he stopped growing, remaining at 5ft 6in. This was strange because his father was nearly 6 feet and both his grandfathers were over 6ft tall. He wasn’t getting erections as boys of his age too, and he often felt tired. The doctors were puzzled because he didn’t smoke or drink or do drugs. The only possible cause seemed to be 4 mild head injuries he’d had when he was 14.

The first was when he ran his head into the shoulder of another soccer player and sat out of the game because he “didn’t feel right.” The second happened when he was tandem-tubing behind a speedboat going at 15-20 mph and his face whiplashed into the head of the person in front of him. He couldn’t remember much about this – only ‘waking up in the water.’

The third and fourth times were ten minutes apart. He was hit hard on the head by a soccer ball, but played on even though he was dazed. Then in the same game he fell and hit the back of his head on the ground, possibly losing consciousness. Afterwards he slept more than usual and found that going upstairs gave him a headache.

The doctors thought his pituitary gland must have been damaged by these four bangs on the head and they tested his hormone levels, and sure enough, they were low.

Now he’s on growth hormone, cortisol and replacement thyroid hormone and he is doing fine. He grew 4 inches in a year, and his stamina is back to normal. He has to wear a medical bracelet and will always need hormone checks, but otherwise he can lead a normal life.