I am a very short person. At 17 , I am only 5 foot 5 inches tall. I really need to grow taller. Unfortunately, I have not grown at all for the last 2 years. Does this mean I have stopped growing ? Or is there still hope ? If there is still hope, what can I do to boost my height ?
My Dad is slightly taller than me, but my mum is shorter. Is there anything I can do to add a few more inches ?

Tall people any advice ?
Doctors any advice ?

Future hight growth is dependant on your bones.
The ends eventually fuse preventing greater growth.
If this has not happened yet, a hypnotist may be able to help you.

It all depends on whether the epiphyseal plates in your long bones have sealed off.

If not, it might be possible to get a bit more height by injections of growth hormone from your local endocrinologist. If they are already sealed off, it's all over.

If you hit puberty early, it's probably too late.

Sorry for the bad news. But I have friends that aren't any taller than you, that got height waivers to join the Marines and are meaner than a bag of snakes, albeit a short bag.

Im in a worse predicament Im 19 years old about 5ft2 bare feet I really want to know if i got a chance to grow

I stretch frequently everyday will this helP??

I don't think there is much you can do to alter height. The only thing I can really think of is to make sure you eat healthy and stuff like that, which is common sense, anyway. I just thought of that since people who lived in the Depression and didn't eat properly are noticeably shorter statistically. However, at your age, you are probably done growing or else don't have much growing time left, so I doubt you'd notice anything, anyway.

A doctor might be able to tell you if you are going to grow any more (I think there are some measurements they can take, or something like that) but I don't think they can do anything to make you grow more.

Limb lengthening can end up making you look a little 'odd' unless you have a very long torso. If it's any comfort, the OP is taller than I am and the same height as my full-grown son. Some of us are just born short. Napoleon was born short. So were a number of famous people.

Good nutrition contributes to height, but there's only so much that can be done about it without (expensive) medical intervention. Talk to your doctor and see what he/she says. The bone lengthening operations take years to do and can be quite painful. The best doctors for this are in Japan and China, where there's a lot of social status invested in being tall (so they do lots of these operations.)

Of course, your kids will be short unless your mate happens to be tall (and then it's a 50-50 chance they'll be tall.) My brother's somewhat over 6'tall (our dad is tall) but I'm a mere 5'3" (mom was short.)

I'm 6'4"

19 years

There is no correct height, we're all different!

I hear "You play basketball?" or "Could you reach this for me" every couple of days.

There are many disadvantages to being tall so don't be in such a rush to grow more. Enjoy who you are and don't worry about trying to be taller.

Tall people don't fit into cars as well and leg room can be a serious issue in public transportation and airplanes. Due to ADA rules, most public conveniences like Phones are placed low for wheel chair users and thus they have to bend down just to make a call. Seats are commonly to low for the same reason. They bump their heads on low, overhead items so be sure to duck. Ouch!!!. Finding clothing that fits properly and is fashionable can be difficult and more expensive. Going to the movies is no fun when you never have enough leg room. Shower heads are usually placed to low to get under properly, and Bath Tubs are too short to recline in and relax. Standard table top, and counter top, height is designed for shorter people and thus always seem to be too low for comfort. Tall people sometimes get back problems because the world demands that they bend down on a regular basis in every day life, even for something as simple as kissing a loved one.

And the number one problem for tall people... Tall people get rained on first.

Seriously... While I can understand peoples desire to be different than they are, in general, one more often finds happiness in embracing who they are, rather than who they wish to be. Remember, Good things come in small packages.

This won't be all that helpful unless you feel like breaking both your legs

But all my family is on the short side with the exception of my uncle who it over 6 ft - family legend has it that as a young teenager he broke both legs below his knees in some accident (bike I think).

Wouldn't recommend it though - short is pretty cool, knowing a few tricks can prevent being pushed around by taller peps, even have advantages

If I was you I would stop worrying about it NOW.

Stop focusing on your negative traits and concentrate on your positives.

You are setting yourself up for a life of self-consciousness that can be almost disabling if not controlled.

Being short is not the big deal people want you to think. It's you inside that matters and how you project. But if you're worrying about what you look like all the time you will be anxious and awkward in social situations, and then people will shy away from you, but you'll think it's because you're short, and so the vicious cycle begins...

There are multi-million dollar businesses taking advantage of our self-consciousness, and they perpetuate it. It's sick imo but most people don't even realise they're being exploited.

If a person is 'likeable' it doesn't matter what they look like.

Anyway we need more short people, so then I won't be alone...

Originally posted by ANOK

Stop focusing on your negative traits and concentrate on your positives.

Amen - I'm short and right now my feet a rather smelly and I need a hair cut, I'm cool with that

I'm 5'4"-5'5". Shush.

If the OP is male there is still a chance you could grow some more, i think men stop growing at about 21. If you are a female you are the same height as me and the only thing you cant do is be an air hostess.




Ones height can be determined by ethnicity nationality and environment as well. Apparently Dutch people are getting taller and taller due to better living conditions,ill dig out an article or maybe Byrd knows more about this.


As for the leg lengthening. I went to school with a girl from India who contracted polio. We had to watch her go through the procedure on one of her legs. Its a long process and its not pretty or easy to endure.


Be happy with yourself. We are encouraged by the media not to be comfortable in our own skins so we can buy things that make us feel that way. This subsides in your late 20's till you become captive to the anti aging market. Its a vicious cycle, my advice is to jump of now with a big FU to the status quo

Originally posted by KTK
Ones height can be determined by ethnicity nationality and environment as well. Apparently Dutch people are getting taller and taller due to better living conditions,ill dig out an article or maybe Byrd knows more about this.

People in China have been said to be getting taller in recent generations due to a more 'western' diet.

Well I hope I get atleast a little taller in the next few years. Its not nice being the shortest guy in school.
I have been making some observations of tall people, I dont know how relevant these observation are.
1. I have noticed, that before a growth spurt, there is a growth in the size of the person's feet. Bad news for me, cause my feet are small and show no signs of growing bigger.
2. People who have settled into a fixed height seem to have thicker limbs e.g me .

Is there anyway to check if my bones have locked off ? Thus preventing any further growth ? I mean anyway apart from an x-ray, a simple way to determine ?