68 replies to this topic

[Ghostrider]

I am a 25 year old male who is 5'7 - 5'6" depending on when measured (5'7" barefoot right after I get up from sleeping, somewhere between 5'6" and 5'7" near the end of the day). After going to a nightclub, it's very obvious that women prefer height. Are there any safe ways to gain another inch or two of height at my age or is it too late? (Height when measured barefoot, not by wearing thicker shoes.)

[dr_chaos]

borrow money from the mafia. then don't pay it back so they'll break your legs( if plastered properly you'll gain 1 or 2 cm). then use the mafias money to buy this scalp implant:
http://www.dailymail...nt-instead.html
no seriously. i think the only way to grow at your age is having your legs broken. but then you'll loose your proportions which in turn will make you look like walking on stilts. not even considering the painful and dangerous surgery.

[Ghostrider]

Nah, not worth it. I was thinking of something along the lines of modulating growth hormones. But that's probably way too risky today to consider.

[FunkOdyssey]

I'm pretty sure this is impossible once the growth plates in your bones have closed. You can achieve growth of basically everything in your body with growth hormone but you'll look like a freak. Inversion therapy might be able to help maintain height into middle and old age but would probably not buy you anything in youth. Astronauts do grow an inch or two in space, but that isn't a very practical option (and it reverses when they return to Earth).

The time to have asked this question and have a fighting chance of effective intervention was 10 years ago.

[mitkat]

I agree with Funk, there's not much you can do. Firstly, you're not that short. Secondly, there are shoes available just for this purpose that do not look unlike 'normal' shoes. I know this is the bioscience forum and I'm talking about shoes, but we haven't come that far yet

[ajnast4r]

correct problems w/ posture

[VictorBjoerk]

www.makemetaller.net If you have enough money you can have your legs lengthened with a successful result regardless of your current stature some doctors would happily operate on you.Look at the results of some of the people,they look pretty good and not disproportional.But it may be necessary to lenghten your arms as well if you lenghten the legs a lot.
Otherwise you can have a silicone head implant like I mentioned in another thread which can make you 2 inches taller.

So with a strong psychological profile and enough money you can achieve the height you want with good results but the whole procedure may take up to a year.

But what is the problem with being 5'7? You may think it's short but it is still completely normal.I wouldn't stare if a 5'7 man walked past me on a street.

Many of the world's oldest men ever have actually been short!

[FunkOdyssey]

Many of the world's oldest men ever have actually been short!

Definitely, and considering how size variation within a given species is often inversely associated with longevity, I would not be surprised if it applied to us as well. Makes me wonder how long I'll be able to hang in there at 6'6". There are tradeoffs in everything.

[Ghostrider]

Yeah, probably too late for growth hormones...actually, I stopped growing when I was about 17. I gained no height in college and I only grew like 2 inches in high school.

Shoes are an option, but they are also a crutch and whoever I end up picking up would eventually find out and that would only highlight an insecurity. I am actually comfortable with my height in terms of living, it's only a relative thing. I don't really consider it an insecurity, however, it does limit my choices for potential mates. Most women like taller guys (taller even when they wear heels). If I had just another 2 inches that would open up a lot of possibilities.

The surgery idea probably does work and it could get me 2 inches. However, I would basically be disabled for a year and I would be concerned that my bones would not heal back to their current strength. I also really don't like the idea of intentionally breaking bones. Seems pretty nasty.

Don't get me wrong, height is less important to me than longevity or intelligence, far less important. In fact I would trade 6" of height for another 10 points of IQ. It also in no way limits my earning potential so it's really just for vanity...but if there is a practical way to get some extra height, I would consider it. Maybe I'll reconsider the shoes.

[braz]

Lol, come on man, my friend is 5'5 and he has picked up more women then any of the people i know including myself :D It's not the size that matters, its how you use it! Just gotta have the skills...

[Lazarus Long]

There is always the rack.



Though it is an extremely time consuming, not to mention painful option.

There are however some modern DIY alternatives though I doubt they are guaranteed.



While inversion therapy won't make you physically taller it will help stretch the spine and leg joints as well as improve posture. This method can in fact sometimes yield an effective inch (or more) to your height that is already in your body but compressed by posture and gravity.

[lunarsolarpower]

"Breaking bones" is way too dramatic language to describe what is involved in this process. Distraction osteogenesis is the proper term and you don't exactly "break" anything to do it. Specifically speaking you corticate (cut through the outer layer) the bone on both sides, wait about a week for it to begin to heal and then apply a small "distracting" force to begin moving the two halves apart. The old-fashioned mechanisms from Russia were quite reminiscent of Frankenstein with lots of metal rods outside the legs. Newer methods are entirely internal and won't make you look like a freak while they are working. I'm not familiar with the details of this process as it relates to orthopedic purposes but in the maxillofacial region growth rates can average about 1 mm per day.

[wydell]

I am a 25 year old male who is 5'7 - 5'6" depending on when measured (5'7" barefoot right after I get up from sleeping, somewhere between 5'6" and 5'7" near the end of the day). After going to a nightclub, it's very obvious that women prefer height. Are there any safe ways to gain another inch or two of height at my age or is it too late? (Height when measured barefoot, not by wearing thicker shoes.)

If you make enough money, a lot of women won't care how tall you are.

So, if you are say worth 20M at 5'7'' or 300k and 6'0'', all else being equal, I think you could attract more women at the 5'7'', wealthier version of you. Somewhat of an extreme example and subject to criticism. I am sure there are a bunch of other qualities beside wealth and height (e.g., charisma) and that influence female decisions. Some of those might be easier (or at least less painsful) to obtain than extra height.l

[mike250]

is there anything that can make you become shorter

[Ghostrider]

"Breaking bones" is way too dramatic language to describe what is involved in this process. Distraction osteogenesis is the proper term and you don't exactly "break" anything to do it. Specifically speaking you corticate (cut through the outer layer) the bone on both sides, wait about a week for it to begin to heal and then apply a small "distracting" force to begin moving the two halves apart. The old-fashioned mechanisms from Russia were quite reminiscent of Frankenstein with lots of metal rods outside the legs. Newer methods are entirely internal and won't make you look like a freak while they are working. I'm not familiar with the details of this process as it relates to orthopedic purposes but in the maxillofacial region growth rates can average about 1 mm per day.

Actually breaking bones sounds a lot more pleasant than:

• The leg is then fitted with the Ilizarov frame that pierces through the skin, muscles, and bone;
• Screws attached to the middle bone are turned 1 millimetre (mm) per day, so that new bone tissues that are formed in the growth zone are gradually pulled apart to decrease the gap (One millimetre has been found to be the optimal bone distraction rate. Lengthening too fast overstretches the soft tissues, resulting not only in pain, but also in the inability of the bone to fill up the gap; too slow, and the bone hardens before the full lengthening process is complete.);
• After the gap is closed, the patient continues to wear the frame until the new bone solidifies; the waiting period is usually 120 days before the leg can be used.

Ilizarov surgery is extremely painful, uncomfortable, infection-prone, and often causes unsightly scars. Frames used to be made of stainless steel rings weighing up to 7 kilogram (kg), but newer models are made of Carbon fiber reinforced plastic, which though lighter, are equally cumbersome.


Not exactly bedtime story material :-). Then the modern approach:

• The bone is cut about 14 cm below the knee from the inside with an internal saw.
• The stainless steel nail is held in place by two screws. The top of the nail is attached to a tiny, plastic-encased receiver that is placed under the skin.
• The patient controls the lengthening process. By pushing a button on the transmitter when it is placed against the antenna, the built-in motor extends the nail one millimetre per day. When the leg has grown to the desired length, lengthening stops, and the bone is allowed to solidify.
• The device can be removed about two years after the initial surgery.

This procedure, however, comes at a price. While the Ilizarov external fixator costs approximately USD$4,000, and the ISKD implant about USD$8,000, the Fitbone device carries a price tag of roughly USD$12,000 (all prices exclusive of surgery costs).


That's the art of torture, I cannot imagine why anyone would do this. Even if I was 4'5", I think I would rather remain single for the rest of my life than spend a year of it undergoing that.

Funk, I probably should have done some intervention 10 years ago, but at the time, I was not sure how tall I would end up. I was short all through grade school, but I figured that I was just growing slower, I looked and still do look much younger than my real age. I figured I would continue to grow through college and high school, but that never happened. My dad is my same height (he might have been 5'8" or 5'9" when he was younger). My mom is about 5'3", but my younger brother is 5'11", maybe 6'. The average height of the males on my dad's side of the family is 5'10" and the average height of the males on my mom's side is 6'3". My grand fathers were both tall, but my grand mothers are / were shorter, like 5'5" and 5'2". Anyway, if I see a better method for gaining height come along I will consider it, but like all enhancements I consider -- laser eye surgery, smart drugs, life extension supplements, they must not impact my health. I think the stress and pain caused by the bone lengthening procedure above would impact my lifespan. I know there is a big market for height enhancement. It will probably get solved right after weight loss, hair loss, and before aging.

Edited by Ghostrider, 28 May 2008 - 05:48 AM.

[Ben]

Ok here's my bit:

I think you should seriously consider the Ilizarov method. I know it's very costly and time consuming but the procedure is permanent.

Failing that, posture, as already mentioned in this article, is key. I would advise you to see an osteopath to help you stand as straight as possible. On this point I'd like to mention that there are these machines that massage your back when you lie on them. The muscles of your back relax and when you get up you are straighter and taller. This lasts a while.

Something else you might to try is body building. Grow vertically if you can't grow horizontally.

[Luna]

He wants to gain highet.. I am wandering about how to reduce the bone size of my huge hands and feet! funny world, grass is always greener.

[platypus]

Posture helps, I think a grew a centimeter through doing yoga as it corrects postural errors.

[VictorBjoerk]

Just 10 years ago it would have been completely impossible for someone who is not a dwarf to change their height.
But what is the thing about height? feeling dominated and insecure in night clubs? well tall people aren't stronger than short people as a general rule.

Edited by Shonghow, 28 May 2008 - 10:04 PM.

[Ghostrider]

Just 10 years ago it would have been completely impossible for someone who is not a dwarf to change their height.
But what is the thing about height? feeling dominated and insecure in night clubs? well tall people aren't stronger than short people as a general rule.

I never said anything about being dominated. Insecurity, that's possible, but the main reason is that most women are attracted to height. I can't blame them, I would not date someone who is morbidly obese -- partly out of what other people would think, to be honest, but mostly due to health issues. So there are preferences that cannot be changed. If there was an easy and painless way to gain height (just a few inches), I would probably do it.

[niner]

Well, Ghostrider, you're two inches taller than Aristotle Onassis, Joe Pesci, Lou Reed, and... Charles Manson.

But more importantly, there are tons of hot women that are 5-7 or under. I had a good friend who was short, and it was tough on him. He ended up marrying a great woman. I think she was taller than him, too. We all stress out about our sub-optimalities. I could make a whole list of things that I'd like to change about my body. I hope that someday I'll be able to change them. Believe it or not, though, women don't really care that much unless they are superficial, in which case they're not good for you anyway.

[Ghostrider]

Well, Ghostrider, you're two inches taller than Aristotle Onassis, Joe Pesci, Lou Reed, and... Charles Manson.

But more importantly, there are tons of hot women that are 5-7 or under. I had a good friend who was short, and it was tough on him. He ended up marrying a great woman. I think she was taller than him, too. We all stress out about our sub-optimalities. I could make a whole list of things that I'd like to change about my body. I hope that someday I'll be able to change them. Believe it or not, though, women don't really care that much unless they are superficial, in which case they're not good for you anyway.

Charles Manson? Figured you could come up with a better point of comparison :-)
I agree though, if I can just live long enough, I will be able to have more control over my appearance, capabilities and consequently, opportunities. Trouble is that currently, there are a lot of women who are superficial...I guess I am too, I like certain features as well. Fortunatually, I only need to find one mate.

[lunarsolarpower]

It's funny how even if people are comfortable with their non-standard height pairing society still takes instant notice of the discrepancy. In some cases to the exclusion of anything else.

[Ghostrider]

It's funny how even if people are comfortable with their non-standard height pairing society still takes instant notice of the discrepancy. In some cases to the exclusion of anything else.

Yeah...ever watch the original children's cartoon Shrek? The cartoon really encouraged discrimination by height, yet it never would have achieved the success that it did if it instead displayed discrimination by race.

Edited by Ghostrider, 29 May 2008 - 03:43 PM.

[VictorBjoerk]

Height discrimination seems to be one of the most common and acceptable forms of discrimination.However I've never heard about someone who is "too tall" receive the kind of prejudice short people get.

[Legend]

Look at Neil Strauss. He is short, not very good looking, but still manages to be a pickup artist. Height is not the problem.

[VictorBjoerk]

Yes and look at Danny DeVito

[lojzenov]

My advice- bulk up. Put on muscle mass, women prefer that over height any day

[Mind]

A friend of mine had a bad back and he went to the doctor or chiropractor and they put him on a stretching machine type thingy, and he ended up a half inch taller, something about the disks in his back getting back into shape or each disk gaining a little size. After a few months he compressed back down.

From what I have found, it is true that women prefer confidence and other intangibles more than physical appearance (height). Putting on a little muscle is one small thing you can control and might help, but attitude is waaaay more important.

[VictorBjoerk]

Why do women always seem to prefer tall men,what are the advantages of being tall? I'm wondering from an evolutionary perspective...