Friday, April 16, 2010

Grow Taller Basics

Sometimes you get so caught up in the science of height increase that you forget the basics of growing taller.  The purpose of this post is to give methods to increase height and explain them in simplified format while avoiding complex terms.

Have a friend or wikipedia that believes that the only way that you can increase your height after puberty is limb lengthening(the surgery to increase height)?  You can easily prove your friend wrong.

Scientists believe that you can't grow in height but you can grow in bone width.  However, not every bone in the body is a long bone.  The bone on the top of the skull is what is called a flat bone.  The same tissue that is present on the width of long bones is present at the top bone of the skull.  Therefore, since you can increase the width of this tissue height increase after puberty is possible.

There is also a bone in your feet.  Your heel bone.  This bone is completely covered with the sheet that can increase in width.  If you can increase the width of this bony sheath it will act sort of as height increasing shoes and you will be taller!

Now how do you increase the width of this outer sheet?  You rub against it.  Since it is the outer covering of the bone, you only need to target the surface of the bone.  So, a vigorous head massage may be one of the ways to get taller!

The bones of the spine are also completely covered by this outer covering of the bone that is possible to increase in width.  Unfortunately, that bone is well covered by a variety of muscles and some connective tissue that prevents the spinal bones from grinding against each other.  However, when you perform an exercise such as picking up a barbell off the floor, a rubbing force automatically occurs on your spine including the top of it!  But, this rubbing force which occurs at the top of the bones of your spine also occurs on the discs that prevent the rubbing of your spine bones against each other.  These discs also contribute to your height!  There is one solution, a grow taller pill if you will:

Chondroitin and Glucosamine consumption has been scientifically proven to aid in the repair and building of your discs.  Glucosmaine is the creatine of the height increase community.  The first height increase pill that works.

These methods are well and good but they won't do much to make yourself taller.  Out of all the tips on how to grow taller, the tip that you have to target your long bones is the most important.

The answer seems to lie in the end of your long bones.  These long bones contain red bone marrow in contrast to the yellow bone marrow contained in the shaft of your long bones.  These red bone marrow stem cells contain the ability to generate new blood cells.

Their is a myth that the growth plates completely fuse after puberty but that is untrue.  Their is actually a thin growth plate line that is simply inactive.  Scientists have performed studies trying to expand the height of this growth plate but they found that stretching out the growth plate only increased the rate at which children arrived at their final height and did not alter the final height the children would be!  By pushing on the side of the ends of the bones we are opening up this growth plate!  However, this growth plate is inactive.

Their are several stages of growth in the growth plate.  The limiting factor is stage one of growth which is known as the resting zone of the growth plate.  What is present at the resting zone of the growth plate?  Stem cells.

Scientists have utilized the power of microscopic fractures in stem cells with knee microfracture surgery to stimulate cartilage growth.  You can also cause microscopic fractures in the ends of the long bones to release these powerful red bone marrow stem cells.  Laterally pressing against the ends of your bones also increases fluid flow within the bone.  This increase in fluid flow sends the stem cells to your now opened growth plate!

Now that the stem cells are present in the resting zone of the growth plate the other stages of growth can begin!  If you're trying to learn how to get tall, then this is the way to do it.

10 comments:

  1. if the spine is stretched via stretching exercises, do you think there is actual longitudional growth in the spinal vertbrae or is it just being straightened?

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  2. It is not via longitudinal growth in the spinal vertebrae. Stretching the spine can help with spinal alignment by adjusting the spine back into position sort of like chiropractic treatment. It can also help get fluid to the intervertebral discs.

    The spine would have to be extremely stretched to get longitudinal growth. The vertebral bones are irregular bones in any case so it's possible to grow taller there by increasing periosteal width and maybe by increasing cortical area(cortical area has been shown possible to increase and spinal bones don't know width from height).

    There may be a better way and some form of stretching is essential(such as hanging or inversion) for the benefit of your discs but there's not as elegant a method as LSJL right now for the spine.

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  3. Hey, I am about 5 foot 7 inches (170 cm) tall, but my reach is almost 190 cm. I also have long legs.

    I am 18 years old, does this mean that my arms and legs are growing first and my torso will catch up later? I barely have facial hair..


    I do shadow boxing for increasing my periosteal width in the spine.

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  4. Not necessarily. Look at Sonny Liston: 6'0" tall and 7'0" wingspan. Growth is based on localized factors in the growth plate. If you desire your proportions may be a great advantage if you want to go into boxing.

    In short, your torso may or may not catch up.

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  5. Hi great website! you have given me so much hope =] Im a female, and I was wondering if you have any tips for increasing hip width (the bone) and also shoulder width? would the same methods be applicable to those areas?
    thanks so much for your help.

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  6. how many tablets per day should you be taking?

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  7. hello i am a 19 years old medical student based in india. i am only 150 cm tall while my mother is 155 and father is 160 cm. is it really possible for me to increase my height now atleast by 5 cm?

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  8. Hello Mr. Christopher Davis,
    I recall you wrote a blog a long time ago on this very site where you stated that people 21 or older were unable to grow taller and it was their choice whether they wanted to be happy with their height or not. You also mention that your shorter brother was like a "sunshine" (which I highly commend and it's the way everyone should be regardless of their desire to gain height or not). Having said this, I would like to establish my clear position about the desire for height increase after puberty (being a person who has searched for VIABLE methods to grow taller for several years).

    With lots of research and proven methods out there for height increase (certain supplementation and exercises), I think the only choice people have is either believe that there is no hope at all on account of growth plate closure or that there are practical methods that they can apply to increase their vertical length that have the POTENTIAL to rejuvenate growth plates. It's a myth that every individual gains all the height they will gain for life during their pubescent/teenage years. I'm a very firm believer that everyone's body is different in unexpected ways and NO MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL knows just how much an individual can develop.

    At the same time, I wanted to congratulate you for a very well-written site!

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  9. Hi I am 17 half year old and have 5.3 inch.Ibgrow to 5.7.how much time it will take.

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