Is it possible to increase height after 21?
This is a much-asked question or its other variation:
Is it possible to grow taller after 25?
Some people even search for:
Can I increase my height after 30?
Height growth after 30? really? That's like taking the whole wishful thinking to another level.
The long and short answer to all these questions is a big no. No sir, you cannot increase your height once you have finished your natural growth around the age of 19 - the average age when males usually stop growing. Though they can stop growing as young as 17 or continue growing up to 21. Females usually reach their full adult height by the time they are 15 - and they don't complain about their height this much!
There are many ads on the internet, many videos on YouTube, and many articles on shady websites, which claim that you can increase your height by taking this, eating that, stretching your spine, or doing some other such nonsense.
People are wishful thinkers - scammers have known this for ages, and people believe what they want to believe and get duped for that. So do not believe whatever you see in those videos - some of which even offer “proof” of height growth.
Once epiphyseal fusion (a process that halts longitudinal bone growth), takes place in the bones, people stop growing, it is as simple as that, there is no growth possible after that.
Estrogen plays a critical role in this fusion. Therefore, it is theoretically possible to increase the height of people who are still growing by blocking their estrogen. But don’t get any ideas, it is only possible in those who are still growing, and not enough studies have been done to check if it has any short or long-term harmful side effects on the body.
Saying all this, we have to admit that there does exist a method of increasing height in humans – but beware, it is for the faint of heart.
It is called leg-lengthening surgery. It entails a long and messy surgery where they break your leg bones (tibia and fibula) and put a device in the cartilage, which keeps pushing back your bones. As the bones are stretched back – the body’s natural healing process keeps making them longer and you gain height in the process.
This process is slow and expensive - not to mention painful. It will give you as many inches as you want but only in legs and slowly… about the rate of one millimeter a day for a 3 month season. After 3 months, you may have gained a few inches in leg but you would need few more months to fully heal your bones and a very demanding physical therapy to get back on your feet. So, if you want to gain a few inches, you could be looking at the very least a year of pain. Looking at all this, the surgery is hardly worth it, if it is only being performed for cosmetic reasons.
However, why bother so much about height? It is really just a number and not such a big deal as you have been led to believe. Height does not make you richer, stronger, more intelligent, more competent or for that matter, even more attractive (You want your body to become more attractive, OK, go gain some muscles and become fit). Being tall serves no real purpose in the real world, and yes, being tall does not make you stronger or athletic either.
The biggest actors have been short; Tom Cruise is only 5’7.5”, and so were Bruce Lee and others, we do not know why but that is how it is. One of the strongest men in the history of humankind, Louis Cyr was only 5'10". Perhaps, the current baddest [sic] man on the planet, Daniel Cormier is only 5'10".
You may be thinking about strongmen, about how all of them are tall and strong. Well, let us tell you a secret. Modern strongmen take tons of steroids, without which such explosive strength or crazy muscle gains isn’t possible. Without steroids, they would have mostly fat to fill their tall frames.
Here are a few benefits of being short that nobody tells you.
Shorter people are quicker than taller ones; this has been seen in every sport.
Shorter people have better balance. So, lesser chance of falling and embarrassing yourself (the least of your worries when falling down).
Shorter people are more mobile. It is not uncommon for big people to lose mobility with age but that is not the case with short people, or not so much as big people.
Shorter people need less food. You need more food for a bigger body, and less for a smaller one.
Short people have stronger hearts because their hearts do not need to pump blood to as much distance as their counterparts in taller bodies do.
Some women may seek taller men, but many find shorter less threatening, and consequently, better material for long-term relationships.
tall women, short man
Confidence is the key to everything!
Looking at all these reasons, it is a wonder why anyone would want to be taller.
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