Now obviously, if walking was able to increase height people would be a lot taller?  But if repetitive stress can induce plastic changes in cortical bone that could possibly contribute to height gain.  More on plastic deformation here.  Michael talks about the definition of Plastic deformation here and he talks about the values needed to induce plastic deformation here.

One possibility as to why inducing microcracks to cause plastic(permanent) changes in bone length is that most microcracks such as those induced by walking would be more compressive microcracks rather than tensile strain microcracks which would be what would be needed to make a bone longer.  One study finding longitudinal decrease in height in the lower legs would be consistent with the fact that typical athletic stimuli induces compressive changes rather than lengthening changes. Although another study also mentioned in the same post found that exercise increased height slightly in the spine. Although it would be logical to think that kicking with ankle weights would be one such stimuli to induce longitudinal plastic deformation of the bone.

Effects of fatigue induced damage on the longitudinal fracture resistance of cortical bone.

“As a composite material, cortical bone accumulates fatigue microdamage through the repetitive loading of everyday activity (e.g. walking). Twenty longitudinally orientated compact tension fracture specimens were machined from a single bovine femur, ten specimens were assigned to both the control and fatigue damaged groups. The damaged group underwent a fatigue loading protocol to induce microdamage which was assessed via fluorescent microscopy. Following fatigue loading, non-linear fracture resistance tests were undertaken on both the control and damaged groups using the J-integral method. The interaction of the crack path with the fatigue induced damage and inherent toughening mechanisms were then observed using fluorescent microscopy.  Fatigue induced damage reduces the initiation toughness of cortical bone and the growth toughness within the damage zone by three distinct mechanisms of fatigue-fracture interaction. Further analysis of the J-integral fracture resistance showed both the elastic and plastic component were reduced in the damaged group. For the elastic component this was attributed to a decreased number of ligament bridges in the crack wake while for the plastic component this was attributed to the presence of pre-existing fatigue microcracks preventing energy absorption by the formation of new microcracks.”

“The composite structure of bone consists of three main components, this includes: collagen type I (organic phase), calcium hydroxyapatite (inorganic or mineral phase) and water [8]. These components are arranged hierarchically from macro to nano scale giving bone distinct material behaviour at each characteristic scale. This composite structure causes bone to form microdamage due to fatigue loading. In bone there are two main types of fatigue damage observed (linear microcracks and diffuse damage), which can be linked to different modes of loading. Another consequence of the composite structure of bone is that it exhibits rising fracture toughness with crack extension (i.e. a rising fracture resistance curve). As a macrocrack propagates through bone, microcracks form in the process zone at the tip of the main propagating crack. This damage can act to reduce the driving force available for crack growth by dissipating energy away from the main crack extension and also provides initiation sites for toughening mechanisms, such as uncracked ligament bridges and crack deflection. Pre-existing fatigue microdamage in the crack path can potentially interact with these mechanisms and alter the fracture resistance.”

In the study a microcrack was induced with a drill so it’s hard to extrapolate the results here to what would happen in various of forms of mechanical stimuli.

This image shows microcracks in bone.  You can see the drill induced crack on the part of a directly above c.

“a crack path of a typical control specimen showing various toughening mechanisms along the crack path: b microcracking ahead of the tip of the main crack, c several ligament bridges and d deflection and ligament bridge formation.”<-I think this kind of cracking could induce longitudinal bone growth however it would require an initial macrocrack such as that induced by the drill.  If you look at the a image directly above d the ligament bridging covers the entire length of the bone which could potentially result in total longitudinal bone growth.

“Typical damaged specimen following resistance curve testing. The approximate location of the pre-existing fatigue microcracks are marked using white lines. Scale bar is 250 µm”

Exercises like kicking with ankle weights can cause microcracks which can increase the likelihood of getting those macrocracks which can result in plastic deformation like longitudinal bone length increase.  But macrocracks are likely needed to induce that plastic strain in bone and only extreme ankle weight kicking is likely to induce that.

The bone constantly changes in length throughout the day by definition of microstrain.  Just cause a “macrocrack in bone” whole the bone is slightly lengthened and repeat and you should gradually grow taller.

Does LSJL only increase intermedullary pressure or does it have extra anabolic effects?  The next few studies address what happens only if intermedullary pressure is increased.  It’s possible that LSJL’s effects are due solely to an increase in vascularization which makes it less promising for adult height growth although it would still be possible to induce adult height growth.  These studies are performed on rats much older than those used in LSJL but no impact on longitudinal bone growth was studied.  However, it still shows even in aged individuals developmental genes like BMP-2 and TGF-Beta can be stimulated.

Dynamic hydraulic fluid stimulation regulated intramedullary pressure

“Physical signals within the bone, i.e. generated from mechanical loading, have the potential to initiate skeletal adaptation. Strong evidence has pointed to bone fluid flow (BFF) as a media between an external load and the bone cells, in which altered velocity and pressure can ultimately initiate the mechanotransduction and the remodeling process within the bone. Load-induced BFF can be altered by factors such as intramedullary pressure (ImP) and/or bone matrix strain, mediating bone adaptation. BFF induced by ImP alone, with minimum bone strain, can initiate bone remodeling.  To apply ImP as a means for alteration of BFF, it was hypothesized that non-invasive dynamic hydraulic stimulation (DHS) can induce local ImP with minimal bone strain to potentially elicit osteogenic adaptive responses via bone–muscle coupling. The goal of this study was to evaluate the immediate effects on local and distant ImP and strain in response to a range of loading frequencies using DHS. Simultaneous femoral and tibial ImP and bone strain values were measured in three 15-month-old female Sprague Dawley rats during DHS loading on the tibia with frequencies of 1 Hz to 10 Hz. DHS showed noticeable effects on ImP induction in the stimulated tibia in a nonlinear fashion in response to DHS over the range of loading frequencies, where they peaked at 2 Hz. DHS at various loading frequencies generated minimal bone strain in the tibiae. Maximal bone strain measured at all loading frequencies was less than 8 με. No detectable induction of ImP or bone strain was observed in the femur. This study suggested that oscillatory DHS may regulate the local fluid dynamics with minimal mechanical strain in the bone, which serves critically in bone adaptation. These results clearly implied DHS’s potential as an effective, non-invasive intervention for osteopenia and osteoporosis treatments.”

“bone fluid flow (BFF) with altered velocity or pressure acts as a communication media between an external load and the bone cells, which then regulate bone remodeling. In converse, discontinuous BFF can initiate bone turnover and result in osteopenia”

“Induced ImP possibly triggers the transformation of the bone nutrient vasculature, leading to the ultimate alteration in blood supply to the bone.”

“The ImP reached the peak at 2 Hz.” at about 15mmHg.

Dynamic fluid flow stimulation on cortical bone and alterations of the gene expressions of osteogenic growth factors and transcription factors in a rat functional disuse model

“Dynamic hydraulic stimulation (DHS) [is] a loading modality to induce anabolic responses in bone. To further study the functional process of DHS regulated bone metabolism, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of DHS on cortical bone and its alterations on gene expressions of osteogenic growth factors and transcription factors as a function of time. Using a model system of 5-month-old hindlimb suspended (HLS) female Sprague–Dawley rats, DHS was applied to the right tibiae of the stimulated rats with a loading frequency of 2 Hz with 30 mmHg (p–p) dynamic pressure, 5 days/week, for a total of 28 days. Midshafts of the tibiae were analyzed using μCT and histology. Total RNA was analyzed using RT-PCR on selected osteogenic genes (RUNX2, β-catenin, osteopontin, VEGF, BMP2, IGF-1, and TGF-β) on 3-, 7-, 14- , and 21-day. Results showed increased Cort.Th and Ct.BV/TV as well as a time-dependent fashion of gradual changes in mRNA levels upon DHS. While DHS-driven fold changes of the mRNA levels remained low before Day-7, its fold changes started to elevate by Day-14 and then dropped by Day-21. This study further delineates the underlying molecular mechanism of DHS-derived mechanical signals, and its time-dependent optimization.”

BMP2, IGF-1 and Tgf-Beta are all pro chondrogenic.

“Bone formation progresses over time after the initiation of mechanical loading. Within 24–48 hr after mechanical loading starts, new osteoblasts lay on the bone surface and contribute to bone formation that is observed after 96 hr of loading. Bone formation follows a time-dependent manner, in which it increases between 5 and 12 days of loading and returns back to baseline levels after 6 weeks of loading. These data suggest that the whole cycle of bone formation, including osteoblast recruitment followed by matrix production, lasts for about 5 weeks before declining back to baseline levels”<-new osteoblasts implies cell differentiation which could mean new chondrocytes as well.

Dynamic Hydraulic stimulation increased the periosteal surface.

At seven days interestingly the levels of the pro-chondrogenic genes IGF-1, BMP2, and TGF-Beta were low.  At 14 days they were all increased relative to control.

“HS may compress the veins within the skeletal muscle and increase the vasculature pressure gradient that promotes capillary blood flow in bone. Increase of capillary filtration may further increase ImP and induce BFF that ultimately promote bone regeneration”

I think LSJL does more than just pure Hydraulic stimulation does.

“Osteoblasts [orginiate] from MSCs”

“Our group previously presented a longitudinal study of bone marrow MSC quantification under DHS in a rat HLS model, where the MSC number was greatly increased in response to DHS by day 14 and diminished by day 21. MSCs may have completed proliferation and begun to differentiate towards osteoblastogenesis at this stage. In the meantime, the induced mRNA levels of the selected genes that we observed in the present study may couple the process of transforming MSC proliferation and differentiation into osteoblasts, which commit to the subsequent bone formation.”<-so maybe why the pro-chondrogenic genes were low at day 7 is that MSCs were proliferating rather than differentiating into chondrocytes.

So What Do Most People Think Of Us And Our Website?

The once thing that I promised to all the readers and visitor to this website is that I will be completely honest with them. That is however not the only factor that I try to infuse into this website. There are three main qualities that defines Natural Height Growth, which I as the original creator of the website will always enforce so that the spirit here will last as long as I run this place.

1. Honesty
2. Transparency
3. Fairness

Those are the 3 key principles which I want to use to explain this website. I promise to be absolutely completely honest with the readers, about our research and what we find. I try to document and reference everything so that the people will know where we are getting our sources. And I will give almost anyone a chance. Almost any idea they give me, I will look into and do some serious research into.

Honesty is at the core of everything we do here. If we can’t have this fundamental factor to represent the website, then everything we have talked about is useless then. Trust is the critical part of our relationship with the readers.

Any type of extreme claims will be backed up by real scientific articles and journals. We don’t just make things up, unlike some people.

When I talk about Transparency, it is to show the readers that I am just a normal guy, which a normal life, with desires to become taller (and smarter) so that I can have a higher quality of life. I have a fiance now  (from Korea) and hope to get married in a few years. The reason I ever started this website was a way to build something that might make a real difference to the world. I was left by my first love for a guy who was taller than me so I felt so inadequate. My belief back then, a few years ago, was that if I was taller than this new guy she was with, she would not have left me. Looking back on my thinking process, it doesn’t seem to make much sense now. So that is why I ever even started the website, I wanted to find a way to become taller, so that I could get an old girlfriend back. It is a very personal, selfish reason but I understand now that the pain I went through two years ago was what was needed for me to make the push to create something like this. Pain can be a really good force and catalyst for people to make great changes in their life.

However, this website grew to become too big, and developed a certain type of momentum to grow on its own, and now it has become too big to just drop anymore. And, it also gives me a sense of importance and significance to be working on a scientific problem which is important and has multiple practical implications if we could ever find a solution (of course, I will never guarantee that we will find it, no matter how hard we try). As for the scientific posts, what I find, I report, completely and try my best to omit nothing. I give my own opinions, but want the readers to reach their own opinions. No one should listen to another one else with complete blind faith. Critical thinking, being sceptical, is important since we can often get cause in our own lies which we tell even to ourselves. I might make a stupid claim at some point which most people will realize is stupid and obviously wrong, which happens very often. I make a lot of mistakes.

When I say Fairness, it means that I give everyone a chance. Not matter what type of new idea or technique is claimed, I would give it some thought and take an honest real look at it. If it is a supplement claiming to help people grow taller, I want to really study the ingredient list. If they did something wrong and lied about something, I give them the benefit of the doubt and give them a 2nd chance to redeem themselves. Everyone makes mistakes, especially if they are trying to make money from the internet. Some people tell white lies, and other people tell half-lies or omit critical information. However, that is what people do so often.

Here are the mistakes I have made and lies I have told you the readers.

• When I first started the website, I wanted to make everything completely open and free. That did not succeed, since Cease & Desist Letters, legal issues, and patent right issues, and requests by original content creators (like by Zixa from The Qigong Method) has led me to set to private certain parts of the website.
• I promised that I would not try to make money from the website and not put advertisement on the website. This promise I completely failed on. (Maybe I became too greedy and lost my way a little in the path. I fully admit that I am human with my faults, failing to resist against greed, lust, sloth, pride, and the other sins)
• I decided back in the middle of 2013 to add Google Adsense to monetize this website to earn some extra income from ads. In addition, I have joined the Amazon Associates Affiliate program to earn some other income. When you see a link to any product that might be sold on Amazon, it is probably an affiliate link. You can hold your arrow icon over the link and it will show you whether the link is an affiliate link or not.
• As a small business owner, I would love to make this website my full time job. That would be a dream for me. How cool would that be? 🙂
• Money does play a factor in the decisions I make, and the implementation of the Adsense and Affiliate programs is what has resulted. Of course, you don’t have to ever buy anything through those links. They are only suggestions, which help out. Most of the time, the website just gets $1 for every purchase you guys make, so it is not like I am getting rich from it.

Let me show you guys one of the first real followers of the website and readers of the website who contacted us. His name is Abel Csabai. He is a Hungarian who was when I first met him going to University in the Netherlands. He is around 183.0-185.0 tall, which is not short, but when you are living in the Netherlands, you might feel quite short in comparison. We even communicated through Skype once and I might have helped him with his Chemistry Lab Homework on how to us Beer’s Law to set up and figure out a refraction problem.

His level of honesty in showing his opinions without pretense is something which is lacking. We found his original videos and posted them below to show what he was really thinking. You can watch both of his videos he had uploaded.

On another side note: He also shared his interest in improving our brains, when my suggestion for him to follow Dave Asprey of the Bulletproof Executive made him sort of a fan. He even found out how tall Dave was, 6′ 4″. It might have been his listening of the podcast episodes that he found out about Dr. D’ Agostino.

After a quick search on Youtube, we found that this audio interview with Dr. Dominic D’ Agostino might have also been done by him. Dr. D’Agostino was in fact on a Podcast Interview on the Bulletproof Executive so there is a 2nd connection. (Listen to the Podcast Episode Here). His talk on the use of ketosis therapies to treat Alzheimer’s and cancer using MCT Oil was fascinating.