I am completely aware that just two post ago I had written about the various types of distraction osteogenesis procedures available. You can find the post by clicking HERE.

What I am doing now is doing a more reader friendly post about the procedure which will go less in detail and more easily understood version. The information I have copy and pasted is not my own but taken from the resource link Short Support which you can find under the Resource Page.

The link to the information below where I found on the Short Support website is found by clicking HERE.

New Procedures in Cosmetic Leg And Limb Lengthening

There have been many developments in recent years that improve upon the Ilizarov External Fixator device. Most of these developments involve internal devices that either provide more support during lengthening and strengthening, or eliminate completely the need for the cumbersome Ilizarov device. The alternatives are listed below in alphabetical order.

• Albizzia
  Albizzia is also called GEN for Gradual Elongation over intramedullary Nail and is a variation of Internal Lengthening Over Nails. It was developed in France by Dr Jean-Marc Guichet at the University Center (CHU) of Dijon in 1986. The device is sping loaded. The rotation of the patient’s lower extremity creates the distraction with an audible “click.” It appears to be similar to, or perhaps a precursor of the ISKD. Dr Guichet is continuing his research with the development of a new 3D-Reconstruction nail (3D-Albizzia) allowing for lengthening and axial corrections at the same time.
• Bliskunov’s method
  Bliskunov’s method was pioneered in the ex-USSR by Professor Alexander Bliskunov, now deceased. It is another example of an internal lengthening device and is now practiced in the Ukraine. 
  

  

   

• Fitbone®
  The Fitbone® device is being used by Prof. Augustin Betz in Germany and appears to be the only device that uses a powered system to lengthen the legs. The bones of the leg (Tibia and/or Femur) are cut and the intramedullary telescoping nail is implanted in the bone marrow of each bone. Each end of the telescope nail is attached to each end of the cut bone. The nail is connected to an induction receiver that is placed just under the skin. An external control unit powers the telescope nail though the induction plate. A similar technique has been used to power artificial hearts.Additional information is available from the The Fitbone® site.

   

  Dr. Betz’s Therapiezentrum Martinsmühle site also provides good information about the procedure. See especially the “Implantation technique” link on the left side of the home page.

• Intramedullary Skeletal Kinetic Distractor (ISKD)
  The Intramedullary Skeletal Kinetic Distractor (ISKD) device uses a kinetic clutch mechanism to lengthen the leg. One segment of a rod is screwed onto another and the whole rod is inserted into the patient’s bone. When the patient rotates his or her leg, the lower segment rotates over the upper one, like screwing a bolt out of a nut, and the rod lengthens, expanding the leg. The clutch ensures that the rod can rotate only in one direction. A monitor is included to track how much the leg has separated at any point in time.The ISKD was invented by Dr. J. Dean Cole, an orthopedic surgeon and President of Orthodyne Inc. Dr. Cole is Medical Director of the Florida Hospital, Orthopaedic Institute, Fracture Care Center. This is one of the few facilities in the U.S. that performs Cosmetic Leg Lengthening. Orthofix manufactures this device. Drs. Paley and Herzenberg at the LifeBridge International Center for Limb Lengthening (ICLL) also use ISKD for Cosmetic Leg Lengthening.
• Lengthening Over Nails (LON)
  The use of Lengthening Over Nails was pioneered in 1990, by Drs. Paley and Herzenberg while they practiced at the Maryland Center for Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction (MCLLR). They are now at the LifeBridge International Center for Limb Lengthening (ICLL). During the initial surgery, a metal rod is inserted into the central cavity (intramedullary) of the lower legs (the tibia bone), and then the external fixator device is attached to the bone. As the limb is lengthened, one end of the bone slides over the rod and new bone is grown around it. When the bone is fully lengthened, the external device is removed and the rod is surgically attached to each bone segment. During bone strengthening, the rod provides support instead of the more uncomfortable and unwieldy External Fixator Device. At the end of the Strengthening phase, a second operation is performed to remove the metal rod. Lengthening Over Nails decreases the duration of the Strengthening phase by two to three months.
• Micro-wound
  Dr. Helong Bai at the The 8th Hospital in Chongqing, China developed a micro-wound operation for leg lengthening. This procedure uses a fixative clip instead of an Ilizarov fixator. The fixator clip covers just one side of the leg and appears to be more comfortable than the Ilizarov fixator which completely surrounds the leg.

  

   

• Precice™
  Developed by Ellipse Technologies, the Precice™ System uses non-invasive adjustable intramedullary rods or bone plates to lengthen long-bones (e.g., femur, tibia). There are no open wounds. Lengthening is achieved through an External Remote Controller (ERC). The “ERC” is a portable, hand held unit that uses permanent magnets to automatically modify the length of the implant through the touch of a switch. The rods can distract up to 65mm.

   >

   

• ProtoDerm® Pin Site Dressings
  In December 2009 we were contacted by a representative from Integrity Medical Devices. The company manufactures pin site dressings for External Fixation Devices. For more information, please read theirIntroduction Sheet and Features and Benefits document.
• Salamehfix
  Salamehfix 1, or SLDF System, is a hinged External Fixation System developed by Prof. Ghassan Salameh in Syria. It is an arc system rather than a circular system and consists of three small arcs. The arcs are not the same diameter so the system can take the shape of leg. The entrance of screws and wires are in minimally painful regions so it’s more tolerable, provides for stable fixation and allows early full weight bearing. The small size of the system allows clothing to be worn over it with full mobility of nearby joints.

  

I have looked through the boards and one common idea that many people mention is using gravity boots to gain some extra height. The basic idea is that by attaching one’s ankles and feet to a raised bar, the force of gravity can be use to push down on your spine, thus elongating it. The vertebrate can be realigned, and the disks between them can be decompressed.

The gravity boots somehow became popular during the 80s when a few famous people and movies started featuring the product as a part of their exercise routine or lifestyle. The original benefits were believed to be relieve from lower back pain and headaches. The increased flow of blood to the brain was supposed to help with one’s cognitive ability. What was eventually reported was that the inversion of one’s body can lead to increased likely hood for stroke, heart problems, and eye damage from the increased pressure. The gravity boots came and gone as mostly a fad but some people still use it and swear to its effectiveness.

Here is my own thoughts on the idea. The idea of using gravity boots operates on the exact same principles as the inversion table and the hanging on to a bar or doing pull-ups. You are trying to use the downward force of gravity to push the parts of your body apart from each other to elongate your body in the vertical direction.

I have used an inversion table myself to relieve back pain once and it helped a little. I learned about the likelihood of using it to gan height and I tried it. I spent about 10-15 minutes two times a day on the machine for only 2 weeks. I did notice a gain of 0.25 inches in height but that gain disappeared after only 15 minutes standing upright. In my opinion, the gravity boots would do the same. They will increase one’s height because the back is being elongated and decompressed, but the height gain is only temporary. Once one goes back to the upright position, the downward force of gravity will negate any effects you have created from being upside down.

To read more about Gravity Boots, go HERE to the wikipedia article about it.

There are gravity boots sold in most large retail stores like Walmart, Amazon, and Sport Authority.

As an example, I wanted to take a sample case of someone who did use the gravity boots for height increase reasons. The posts by the individuals can be found by clicking HERE

Source:  http://www.easyheight.com/inversionsuccess.htm

Note: Below are all the emails & message posts we’ve received & collected from our fellow height seekers telling about the wonders of inversion exercises. We’re convinced that inverted sit-ups is possibly a cure for short stature! Read on and tell us if you agree! For your convenience, some bogus claims & exaggerated statements have been removed. Finally, keep in mind that the inverted sit-up exercises with weights (from the Lumbar Routine) is the COMBINATION of all the success story ingredients which are listed below. In other words, stationary inversion does NOT work. Again, the quickest & most proven way to grow taller is possibly through inverted sit-ups with weights.

Last updated: Jan. 1, 2006

I gained 1.5 inches in 3 months through inversion, but LOST IT ALL!
April 30 2002 at 2:19 AM No score for this post
Forum Owner (Shawn_c)
To Mark and Every One…Please Read about my Routine
http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=195653&messageid=1020147548

Hey Mark

I’m 20 years old and (5’9″)… I’m trying to achieve my ultimate goal and that is reaching the 6 feet mark.. In answering your question, yes i did grow TEMPORALLY about an 1.5” and it’s not only just doing inversions. There’s more to it then just plain inversion.

Because during the 3 months of my routine, I had a strong will, desire and a NO to never give up hope on achieving my goals. I was really focused on growing and keep saying to myself every time in the mirror, mourning when I wake up and at night just before going to sleep…”you are growing taller,” repeat several times…”you are growing taller everyday”, repeat several times, “you will grow taller, you must grow taller”, repeat several times. And there’s many more…but things like that I would say to myself…you get the picture….

Also I did leg stretches on my bed(while lying down flat on my back…stretch out each leg for about 10 sec on each for 10 reps) and did a few other simple exercises on the bed….and did the same thing when waking up in the morning…

During the day I would always maintain a straight posture….while walking and sitting(it wasn’t very easy at first…but I got used to it very soon)…posture is a very important factor in trying to gain height….

For the inversion…I did that 3 times a day on some occasions depends on how I personally felt…but most of the times I did it 2 times a day…I did it for 3 days straight…1 days off (need a break)… and then 3 days straight…repeat….that’s 6 out of 7 days a week…it seems like its too much, but its not because I would take a break on every 3 days of inversion…remember don’t ever do 6 days straight if your going to do it 2-3 times a day……because doing too much can be very unhealthy and can lead to injures and problems…it all depends on u, and how u feel…its very important to listen to yourself..

And that’s the routine I followed for 3 months or so (plus eating at least 3-4 meals a day)…and I grew about 1.5 inches…But of course I then got really lazy (it’s the truth…it happens to us all at some point) and stopped following my routine for about 4 weeks approx and guess what…I LOST IT ALL…

It was very disappointing because of all that hard work I had put in… but it goes to show that I HAD GROWN….so there is hope for u all, .it’s possible to grow after 19 years of age…

And the keys to reaching your goals are: NEVER GIVE UP HOPE, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, BE STRONG, COMMITTED AND DEDICATED TO YOUR ROUTINE (FOR EXAMPLE) AND U TOO CAN SUCCEED AND Achieve YOUR GOALS.…GOOD LUCK TO U ALL, Forum Owner(Shawn_C)
—————————

i forgot to mention this, while inverting i used a pair of hexbells (about 20lbs)
April 30 2002 at 2:48 AM No score for this post
Forum Owner(Shawn_c)
http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=195653&messageid=1020149294

Response to To Mark and Every One…Please Read about my Routine that i followed…..

Hey guys, before the inverting phase…I would set up two hexbells (dumbbells) of 20lbs each on the floor then hang on the bar upside down and grab the hexbells with each hand…and lay there MOTIONLESS for about 1-3 min then drop the weight on floor curl back up for some air..then go back down and grab the weights and then start swinging fluently back and forth for about 1-3 min….then did some punches with the weights (trying to punch the ground) and then did other kinds of various stretches with the weights that I could think of while inverting…the whole inversion process last about 10-15mins…

But remember when starting to invert for the first time it is best to go small (that is 30s to 1min)…then gradually increase your time of 30secs for each day… not on successive inversion… for example, say today I’ll be inverting 3 times.. on my first invert i do 30s…on my second invert and third invert i do also 30s or so…then on the next day after getting enough sleep of course…I increase my inversion time to about 1 min for that day….got the picture? ..adding weights while inverting helps a lot in the growing process… However, remember to be extra careful and cautious while inverting with weights….Good luck, Forum Owner(Shawn_C)
—————————-

To Jen And Mark about inversion…please read!!!
April 28 2002 at 11:26 PM No score for this post
Forum Owner(Shawn_C)
http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=195653&messageid=1020050761

Response to tom, have you tried inversion yourself?

I personally have tried inversion…i would do it 2-3 times a day…morning, afternoon and at night just before going to bed…do it at least 10-15min each session…of course when starting to invert for the first few times it is best to do 30sec to 1min…then slowly gradually increase your time about 30sec each day of inversion…just remember not to do more than 15min..

I did that for 3 months straight…6-7 days a week..and grew about 1.5 inches...but then i got really lazy after and stopped inverting for about 4 weeks straight and guess what.. I LOST WHAT I HAVEGAINED..i suppose the results are not permanent.. that is why i’m doing it again and i’m on my second week of inversion..and this time i will not quit..if i can attain 1″1/2″ before then i can do it again and this time keep the results permanent…

Remember the key to success is commitment, dedication, and hard work…cant give up and never give up..believe in yourself and the power of the mind…and u can grow too. Good luck,  Forum Owner(Shawn_C)

listen!!!
May 4 2002 at 3:51 AM No score for this post
Shawn_C (Forum Owner)
http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=195653&messageid=1020498706

Response to What’s the most we can increase our height?

There’s no guarantee that you will gain any permanent height after your bones have fused…ages 16-18 for males and 14-16 for females in my opinion…but yes it is possible to grow after 19..i have at one point…it was temporary gains of 1.5 inches over a 3-month span of a routine that I used…read my previous post on this matter…but if I hadn’t got lazy and kept it up for a year or so…then just maybe the results may have been permanent…however, it all depends on a lot of factors as to how much we can actually grow…

YOU must be dedicated and committed and have a strong will power to never give up Hope and never quit…its’ not very easy to do especially if you’re going to follow a routine for more than 3 months… It takes hard work to achieve your goals…IF YOU HONESTLY PUT 100% EFFECT INTO…THEN YOU’LL SUCCEED AND GROW TOO…TAKE MY WORD FOR IT…. AND you may grow as much as 1-4 inches in my opinion…But it all depends on a lot of factors, such as age, environment, nutrition, sleep, just to name a few…

Listen..I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TRYING TO GET AT(I’LL CREDIT U WITH 100% ON THIS, BECAUSE EVERYONE WANTS TO KNOW WHAT REALLY WORKs, RIGHT???SO GOOD QUESTION)…AND HERES THE ANSWER TO YOUR REAL QUESTION…NO pun intended!!!

None of these products that you have seen being advertised such as Prolex, B-Growth, Growth-booster, and many, many others that your familiar with….if not there are many out there!!!

THEY JUST DONT WORK!!! IT’S THE FACT!!!.. IT’S THE TRUTH!!! JUST ACCEPT IT!!!…

Don’t even try to Argue/Disagree with me…by saying U have to try it first to believe it… I know what I’M SAYING…NOW IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT REALLY WORKS(Your second supposedly question)…again no pun intended!!! I’LL TELL YOU:

HARDCORE STRETCHING…
INVERSIONS…
PILATES…
AND JUST MAYBE YOGA …
IF THERES ANYTHING THAT I LEFT OUT OR FORGOTTEN TO ADD which I probably did… I’LL UPDATE U… Cheers, Shawn_C
——————
Response to hanging on a bar 
I Believe that you need to do it for more than a year to see permanent results…. It doesn’t hurt to try…. But hanging is LESS effective than inversion… Many people who tried hanging grew longer arms… Good luck, Shawn_C

===============END of Shawn’s Story=============

Sky’s NOTE: The reason that Shawn gained 1.5 inches of temporary height gain (which he quickly lost it all) is because what he did was STATIONARY inversion (inverting motionless while holding dumbbell weights). Our experiments have proved that stationary inversion is NOT effective and that kinetic inversion (inverted sit-ups with weights) is possibly the preferred method for achieving PERMANENT growth.

Me: Overall, I would not recommend a routine or program to increase height through gravity boots. If you choose to use it, it might be a good idea to focus on doing a few sit-ups to help strengthen one’s core and make the toro sleeker to create the illusion that the body is thinner and taller than it really is. The gravity boots can definitely be used as an exercise equipment and it will give one temporary height increase. Remember that you are responsible for any injuries or problems you develop from using or trying out any form of exercise program. 

{Tyler-An interesting to note about distraction osteogenesis is that it strives to only do corticectomy attacking only the cortical bone this is very promising as we could potentially attack the cortical bone with less invasive methods}

If you are even remotely interested in the idea of height increase and done any research on the subject and possibilities, you probably have heard of the painful, expensive, and difficult process people talk about where a person’s legs are cut, and separated to re-heal to grow bigger. Most people know the surgical process as limb-lengthening surgery, or leg-lengthening surgery, mainly because the surgery to gain height through surgery is done on the legs, not the torso, neck, or head. Historically, the original method has been called the Ilizarov Method. Since then, new methods and techniques have developed. However, the medical name for the surgical process is called Distraction Osteogenesis.

I am not a medical professional so I will take the most important parts of the Wikipedia article on Distraction Osteogenesis found HERE.

Distraction osteogenesis, also called callus distraction, callotasis and osteodistraction is a surgical process used to reconstruct skeletal deformities and lengthen the long bones of the body. A corticotomy is used to fracture the bone into two segments, and the two bone ends of the bone are gradually moved apart during the distraction phase, allowing new bone to form in the gap. When the desired or possible length is reached, a consolidation phase follows in which the bone is allowed to keep healing. Distraction osteogenesis has the benefit of simultaneously increasing bone length and the volume of surrounding soft tissues.

….developed was the metal frame the leg was placed in to hold it perfectly in place until the cut made in the bone was healed over.

The breakthrough came with a technique introduced by Russian orthopedic surgeon Gavril Ilizarov. Ilizarov developed a procedure based on the biology of the bone and on the ability of the surrounding soft-tissues to regenerate under tension; the technique involved an external fixator, the Ilizarov apparatus, structured as a modular ring. Although the types of complications remained the same (infection, the most common complication occurring particularly along the pin tracks, pain, nerves and soft tissue irritation) the Ilizarov technique reduced the frequency and severity of the complications. The Ilizarov technique made the surgery safer, and allowed the goal of lengthening the limb to be achieved.

Using exclusively an external fixator

The most common is the Ilizarov surgery with the Ilizarov external fixator. Other external fixators are Wagner, Orthofix and Judet. Dr. Helong Bai (8th Hospital in Chongqing, China) developed the technique “Micro-wound” with a different apparatus

Ilizarov surgery

The process involves the following:

• Shattered bones and devascularised ones are removed from the patient, leaving a gap;
• The healthy part of the upper bone is broken into two segments with an external saw;
• 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 increase 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.

The Guichet Method

Invented in 1987 by Dr. Jean-Marc Guichet MD, the Albizzia nail was created during his residency at the University Center (CHU) of Dijon, France. The Albizzia nail is inserted into the bone canal after it is calibrated with a reamer. The nail is then fixed to the ends of the bone fragments with screws. The nail consists of two sliding tubes that rotate in relation to the other, allowing for the nail to extend through a series of “clicks.” After insertion, the patient “clicks” the nail by turning the knee and leg (femoral nail) or foot (tibial nail) alternating inward and outward rotations to gradually lengthen. 15 clicks per day results in 1mm of gain. Expansions of up to 10 cm have been reported. The Albizzia nail is used in almost 30 countries and over 3,000 nails have been implanted.

In 2009, Dr. Guichet patented the Guichet Nail. The Guichet Nail is an improved version of the Albizzia nail because it uses stronger steel that allows for full weight bearing activity almost immediately after surgery. Furthermore, the Guichet Nail is customizable for size to ensure maximum comfort and efficiency for patients with smaller bones. Although there is initial pain after the surgery and during the clicks, the Guichet Nail is believed to be less painful than other methods as it is less invasive. Furthermore, as the patient controls the method of “clicking,” the patient is able to reduce pain by determining the most suitable method for themselves.

The Guichet Nail is currently used exclusively at the Leg Lengthening Clinic in Marseilles, France. Founded in 2011 by Guichet and Keeper, the clinic specializes in cosmetic leg lengthening surgeries. With worldwide recognition for being the foremost knowledgeable limb rescontruction surgeon with respect to internal fixators in the world, Dr. Guichet has successfully completed over 350 limb lengthening procedures.

Intramedullary skeletal kinetic distractor

In 2001, the “Intramedullary skeletal kinetic distractor” (ISKD) was introduced, allowing lengthening to take place internally, thereby drastically reducing the risk of infections and scarring. The ISKD device was designed by Dr. J. Dean Cole, MD of Orlando, Florida.

With ISKD, a telescopic rod that can be gradually extended by knee or ankle rotations is implanted into the bone. Lengthening is monitored by a hand-held external magnetic sensor that tracks the rotation of an internal magnet on a daily basis.

ISKD requires a physical leg movement to “click” the device into lengthening. In this method, there is no risk of accidentally over-stretching the bone due to the lengthener being preset to the desired fully extended length. However, there is a risk of growing the bone too quickly. Bone growth is monitored by measuring changes in the magnetic field of an embedded magnet in the system. The poles of the magnet change as the device grows. However, if the motion of the leg makes the device grow too quickly, and the magnet switches poles twice between measurements, then that growth is not recorded. This leads to overly rapid growth which can cause a number of issues such as nerve damage or causing breaks in the bone.

While there is some pain associated with the immediate post-op lengthening, the initial lengthening procedure is not to begin until one week after surgery. Furthermore, there is no noticeable “click” to the patient as there is less than nine degrees of rotation of the two bone segments in relation to one another.

Fitbone surgery

A form of surgery involving an intramedullar, fully implantable, electronically-motorised limb-lengthening implant, called “Fitbone”, is a technologically advanced, though relatively complex, device.

Developed in Germany by Augustin Betz and Rainer Baumgart, the first successful operations were performed in 1996 and the technique was patented in 1997. Thus far, most of the surgeries using this method have been performed in Munich, Germany by Baumgart and Peter Thaller. The first successful surgeries in Asia have been performed since 2001 by Dr Sarbjit Singh in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, and Dr Sittiporn, Bumrungrad Hospital, Bangkok. In December 2005 Fitbone surgery was done in Malaysia at the Mahkota Orthopaedic Reconstruction and Limb Lengthening Center, Melaka by Thirukumaran Subramaniam and Jeyaratnam T Satkunasingam. Dr. Bruce Foster of Adelaide, Australia, chairman of the “Bone Growth Foundation” — a charity established with the aim of helping children with crippling bone growth problems — is currently the only surgeon that uses the “Fitbone” device in the southern hemisphere.

Fitbone comprises a telescopic nail implant that can extend, powered by an electric motor and controlled by a receiver with an antenna that is buried under the skin; the receiver in turn is controlled by a hand-held radio-frequency transmitter. The procedure for lengthening the lower leg is as follows:

• A two-centimetre incision is made at the patient’s knee, and a reamer is used to create enough space in the bone for a stainless steel nail.
• 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 US$4,000, and the ISKD implant about US$8,000, the Fitbone device carries a price tag of roughly US$15,000 (all prices exclusive of surgery costs).

The Bliskunov device is currently not available.

Future technology

Due to shortcomings of current external and internal devices and the evident market potential of cosmetic limb elongation, a growing number of companies are researching potential intramedullary technologies. These include:

• Concepts based on electromagnetic actuation
• Concepts based on smart material integration
• Concepts based on manual actuation
• Concepts based on electronic actuation

Biotechnological advances, such as in stem cell research, may become the next generation standard of care for limb elongation once it matures, possibly within a decade or two.

General solid bone regeneration

Distraction rate

The most important aspects for the success of bone distraction are an intact medullary blood supply, preservation of soft-tissue envelope, primarily the periosteum (which helps preserve the blood supply) and secondarly bone marrow and the stability of the fixator.

The distraction rate must be gradual, as a rapid rate of distraction will result in a fibrous union in which the bone pieces are joined by fibrous, rather than osseous tissue.

Too slow of a distraction rate would result in early bone consolidation. A common distraction rate for lower limbs is 1 millimeter per day.

Cosmetic lengthening of limbs

Generally, doctors tend to discourage cosmetic lengthening for people who want to add a couple of inches to their frames

People insistent on doing the procedure, however, are required by some doctors to undergo a thorough body image assessment by a psychologist to help determine how far the person’s quality of life has been affected by his perceived lack of height, and if doing the surgery will make a marked difference.

Me: This will be only the first of many posts I will write that looks at the different types of surgeries and methods available that can lengthen one’s legs and limbs. In my personal opinion, there is still a lot of science and innovation that can go into this type of surgery. It may be possible within 20 years that people can choose to go in to a clinic and get their limbs lengthened and height increase as easily as going to get a breast implant or laser eye surgery. Of all the methods reviewed so far, distraction osteogenesis is still the most common way to gain height with clear results. It was reported in popular fiction that in the movie Gattaca (starring Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman) the main character and the original James Bond villain Dr. No that they both had limb lengthening surgery done to either look more intimidating or hide their identities. 

One of the earliest posts I had made was on the well known height increase case of Adam Rainer, which Guinness Book Records and other height resource sites have called the only person in history to be both a dwarf and giant in his life. His story and legend has grown so big that he is almost like Robert Wadlow in his infamy. I wanted to revisit his case because I found out some additional information about him.

From The Tallest Man website located HERE it would appear that Adam started growing rapidly at the age of 21. It was his feet and hands that started to get really big at first. What is interesting from the site is that they state that Adam suffered from Acromegaly, but Acromegaly is the condition people with excess HGH release have after puberty and the regular growing process is supposed to have suffered. Adam did suffer the standard condition for people who become giants, a tumor developed close to or at the pituitary gland that presses it to release excess HGH causing the body to grow excessively

What is probably less well known is that before one reach puberty and during puberty, the tumor at the pituitary gland is diagnosed as gigantism by doctors. After puberty has stopped and the growth plates are supposed to be closed, the condition is no longer called gigantism but acromegaly. It is Acromegaly that most doctors are truly worried about since at that time the conveitonal medical opinion is that the body will try to grow in other ways besides vertically because the long bones don’t have the cartilage to grow in that direction anymore. I agree with half of that idea. I think that one can still grow vertically with acromegaly.

The primary case is Rainer’s. The resource clearly stated that Rainer was suffering from acromegaly, not gigantism so that means that his growth plates should have  sealed. He was 21 when the growth spurt occurred. Sure, we could argue that he was a late bloomer and that his plates did not close, but in the resource, it is noted that adam had a standing height of 6′ 9″ but he had scoliosis (curvature of the spine) which seemed to get worse as time went on.

Adam didn’t die until he was 51 and it is true that his standing height of 6′ 9″ might have never changed but his body was fighting to grow. His back was becoming more curved so it was clear that his vertebrate or the intervertebral disks was getting thicken and bigger. Most giants like the tallest women in history 8′ 1″ Zhen Jinlian and modern giant 8′ 1″ Brahim Takioullah both suffer from spinal curvature which prevents them from showcasing their true height if corrected for back curvature. At this point, I am not sure why the back curvature even happens because I would assume that there is a height limiting constraint like a bone that does not increase forcing the body to lean forward and cause back curvature. However, if Adam was able to overcome that back curvature, which I theorize he could have, then he would have proved that even after the growth plates are closed from puberty, an excess release of HGH can still cause height increase because the growth hormones get released into the disks which lengthen and widen, as well as the joints like the hips and knee cartilage which continue to expand. My guess is that the back curvature happened because the body could not handle the amount of loading that was added upon which came too quickly so the body was not able to adapt fast enough.

I have been posting and listing as many of the credible height seeking websites and resources as I can find that I have never been able to get around to really even looking at the links on the resource page. It turned out from me analyzing my site traffic that a lot of people prefer to go to the “techniques” page and the the “products” page, and then lastly move down to the part where I talk about how to “increase by 10 cm” in the “height guide” page. I still have not gotten around to editing that “increase by 10 cm” page, and the main reason is that I have not found one credible source and method out there that can have even the remote possibility to achieve it. If I never find such a method, that part will never be edited or added upon.

Anyway, I found out that when visitors click on certain links, they don’t ever reach the intended site because I had done a link incorrectly. So I have fixed most of those issues now with linking problems, at least the ones that I know about.

I had stated before that ever since I managed to comb through most of the google results for height increase and posted the most credible sites, I was going to focus mainly on the forums and sites available to get new ideas, strategies, and methods on how height increase is possible. I have been doing that and I have gotten some really amazing ideas. However, I wanted to focus on some resources which were rally stand alone websites with few true editors and writers.

In my opinion, there is only 4 resources worth really focusing on presently, and only because they have been continuously edited and added upon over an extended amount of time. The first is the board Giant Scientific which is very good but I feel that has reached a place where real progress and innovation has stagnated. However, if one looks through the old posts from years past, there is a lot of interesting ideas and methods listed. The other is the Short Support Group website which is very good with its information but has not really changed or been edited upon in a long time. They have a section for resources where they list websites that are trying to figure out height increase but many of the listing are now gone or inactive. The third is Make Me Taller which is another board which mainly focuses on the surgical method to grow taller and basically shuns all other ideas as non-credible. They are also extremely useful and informative but they tend to only focus on surgical methods for height growth, which is okay. The last resource is the Quest for Height blog/website that has been edited since 2009. The writer Tyler Christopher Davis takes a very scientific and honest approach to looking for height growth. His own main method of Lateral Synovial Joint Loading is something I still have to research and look into because I have not gotten around to looking at the blog in detail. His dedication to this endeavor is something that I have seen few people can do with consistently. I have seen many other blogs where the writer tries to create either a height journal to explain their progress or search for a way to grow taller and they mostly give up after say 10 posts or so. Besides the LSJL method, I have found only 2 other main method which can really work besides the traditional limb lengthening method.

Since I can’t really read or understand any other languages, I can not search through the entire internet space for the other credible sites out there which might be in another language like Chinese or Arabic. I am sure that the issue for the desire to increase one;s height is something desired by at least 50% of the entire world, the shorter half of the human population. In my own life, I have had two female cousins, my own younger sister, myself, two ex-girlfriends, my own father, and 2 male friends who have all expressed the desire at some point that they wished to be taller, but chose not to do the work and the research to find s solution.

Since the internet is becoming bigger and more influential all around the world, I am sure that there are at least hundreds of other websites out there where members and blog posters are looking at where each person is looking for their own individual path to height increase success. I have not found many resources in other languages so I can only talk about the stuff that I have found, all of them in english.

And if Tyler is you Minigolfer, I had sent you an email to that email provided on the height quest website yesterday asking that you give a guest post on here explaining and reviewing your own ideas, thoughts, and conclusions on this unique niche of human endeavor.

I recently realized that the nature and intent of this website is changing to something beyond what I had intended for when I first began the blog.

In the beginning, I had intended for the blog to be just a place where all of the ideas and methods for natural height growth can be in one place. However as time progressed, I forgot about the original intent and started to talk about unnatural ways to gain height including stem cells, surgery, and dna manipulation. In addition, I quickly moved into studies of pseudo-science and mysticism for other possibilities, which would be “supernatural”.

When I started to write posts that talked about height, but did not talk about how to increase height, I received complaints that I was not focused on the original intent of the website. I agree.

Finally I found myself putting a post about how one can be smarter from taking “smart pills” which I had referred to as the magic bullet for gaining increased intelligence.

From all of these posts, I realized that even in just less than 4 weeks after the website began, the website has already formed into something different. I feel that the name of the website Natural Height Growth is becoming unfitting for its purposes. What I finally realized is that I am looking for ways to hack the height growth process. I have always been interested in how we can hack the body to do amazing things. Ever since Tim Ferriss came out with the 4 hour body, I realized that most people have already beat me to the punch and found most of the best tricks. When I found Dave Asprey’s site, I realized that my focus should never be on finding hacks for the entire human, body but only focus on dealing with trying to hack human height.

Most of us can acknowledge that the traditional medical opinion is that height increase is not possible after the growth plates are sealed so trying to increase height the traditional way.

So I am now stating that the name of the site is no longer appropriate, but I intend to still use that as the website. The original reason for me to choose the name Natural Height Growth was really for SEO and internet traffic reasons. I wanted to allow google to easily find me and rank me when people were looking for a way to grow taller.

My other idea at this moment is to transfer all of this information into a new site Height Hacks at www.heighthacks.com. Currently, I have chosen not to do it or even buy the domain name yet. I plan to stay with the Natural Height Growth site and only focus on growing this website, even if the name is no longer appropriate.