Keep getting shorter in height!

C50 said:
I think part of my loss in height is due TO exercise! I've been hard on my body and still am, the constant stress of hard work and exercise can be felt in most of my joints including my spine.
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How is your bone density? If it is ok, then perhaps scoliosis is at play. My young daughter lost height due to this.

At any rate, I still maintain exercise is so very important for maintaining bone and muscle as we age, but also, recovery time becomes increasingly important. Have you had “off” days between days of workout?
 

Nathan said:
I've noticed that short medical assistants will measure a tall person shorter, while a taller medical assistant will measure a tall person taller.
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All the medical assistants are shorter than me. I just measured my height because this thread got me curious. I am exactly the height I've been all my life.
No undersized medical assistant is gonna short change me.
 
Michael Z said:
How is your bone density? If it is ok, then perhaps scoliosis is at play. My young daughter lost height due to this.

At any rate, I still maintain exercise is so very important for maintaining bone and muscle as we age, but also, recovery time becomes increasingly important. Have you had “off” days between days of workout?
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Bone density was good a few years ago but no recent test.

And no I rarely take time off from exercise or physical activities but do take an easier week every couple of months. I need daily physical stimulation that exercise and hard work gives.
 
Back in the day ... as they say, I was 6'1" .... I think I'm down around 6'0 ... maybe shorter as i haven't been measured for a few years now, and It is hard to stand up straight . Doc says it is disc degeneration , and spinal stenosis.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
What type of exercises or stretching are you doing to keep from shrinking? Are you taking some special type of supplement. My mom had a device that stretched her vertebrae out.
At 69 that’s amazing.
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Walking is the only exercise which I do daily and no specific supplements.
 
TheOtherRick said:
A couple of years ago I had a pic line put in, I could see my skeletal structure as I lay on the table from front to back. My spine looks like an S, I'm getting shorter I'm having a harder time getting things from my kitchen cabinets. I got a grabber and that helps.
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yes, I've seen a scoliosis spine.. not good... I was just amazed a spine could be seen from the front.. I never gave X-rays a thought.

I'm not tall, so now my husband has gone who used to get everything down from high heights..I also use a grabber.. or use the stepladders to reach
 
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Both my parents shrank as seniors as do the majority of older folks. Now at age 75, my height remains at 5'6". With a weight of 135#, that is BMI 22. So have always had a boy like thin build versus the much more common stout build of most short adult Caucasian men.

Possibly genetics, but also likely due to my exceptionally adult lifelong outdoor activities. Backpacking with loads above 35% body weight is a brutal sport hiking up in alpine mountains that has possibly kept my spine in exceptional condition. Additionally, am a long time recreational mogul skier that requires strong torso, back, and abdominal muscles. And am a dynamic freestyle dancer. So maybe a textbook case of Use It or Loose It.
 
Pepper said:
My chiropractor, this is pre-pandemic, had a machine that stretched vertebrae and another for the neck. It was marvelous, I always danced out of his office, felt so great. Unfortunately, doc had to retire due to illness. The chiropractor his patients were referred to did not have it and was no help.
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We had the best most honest chiropractor ever. His practice rates were so low and his office/ clinic so modest. He suggested the stretch thing for my mom’s neck. We both had long necks that needed adjusting.
Our chiropractor retired also but I found a good one in the city closest to us and luckily have insurance that covered it as well as massage therapy and acupuncture.
See! You’re into alternative health remedies💕
 
I've lost a couple inches. I'm taking bone medicine nowadays and I hope that will stop or slow the shrinking.

My great-grandmother was still alive when I was a kid (she lived to 91 yrs old) and I remember her as being very short, now I'm wondering if that was just because she was so old, and if so, I wonder how tall she had been.
 
C50 said:
I measured myself yesterday and I am two full inches shorter than I was in highschool. That boggles my mind realizing my body and skeletal system have compressed that much.

How about you?
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My spine specialist told me a 2 to 3 inch loss in height is *normal range* for males over 60. And it is due to spinal compression after years of mostly being upright.

He recommended traction. I bought myself an inversion table. One of the best things I ever bought myself. Hanging upside-down at a 60-degree angle for 10-15 minutes morning and night works best for me. Relieves back pain (temporarily) and I just feel way better afterward.

Can't say for certain that I regained height with the inversion table because I had 2 spinal surgeries not long after I bought it, and gained a little height after each one. But I believe the table probably added an inch or so, permanently.
 

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