Human Growth Hormone (HGH) plays an essential role in the normal growth and development of children. It stimulates the generation of new bone tissue in their growth plates, which helps with the lengthening of bones and increases their height.
Additionally, the hormone has been linked to the development of penis size and testicular growth in boys since infancy.
HGH therapy is presently the only reliable treatment for those with short stature and adults suffering from Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD).
While it is a prescription medication and thus comes with its own set of potential side effects, the benefits it brings far outweigh the risks for those who have GHD. However, it is not recommended for those who already have healthy growth hormone levels.
Can HGH make you taller?
Children and teenagers need sufficient levels of human growth hormone (HGH) to reach their full height potential. HGH influences the activity of other hormones, facilitates the growth of all organs and tissues, and keeps blood sugar and fat metabolism in check.
Research has demonstrated that HGH secretion is linked to height in children. Those with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) had significantly lower height velocity than healthy individuals.
Height is determined by the lengthening of the bones in the body, which occurs in the growth plates, a cartilage structure near the ends of the long bones. Growth continues until the growth plates turn from cartilage to bone, a process known as closure.
The growth plates in the body remain open from the time a baby is born until adolescence in girls and late teenage years in boys. This means that the body continues to grow during this time.
For children with growth hormone deficiency, it is beneficial to start hormone replacement therapy as early as possible to increase their chances of reaching a normal adult height.
Studies suggest that a dosage of at least 0.32 to 0.4 mg/kg/week is necessary to achieve this result. With the right treatment, a child with GHD can reach their full potential in terms of height.
How to know if your growth plates are closed?
Once the growth plates have fused into bone tissue, it is impossible to get any taller. To determine if this has occurred, a doctor must perform an X-ray exam.
Even if the patient takes high doses of human growth hormone (HGH), it will not be able to convert the bone tissue back into the complex cartilage structures necessary for height increase. Unfortunately, this means that it is impossible to increase height in adults with closed growth plates.
However, long-term exposure to increased HGH levels in adulthood can lead to an endocrine condition called acromegaly, which causes the bones to thicken.
Can you grow taller as an adult?
Once the growth plates have fused, it is not possible to increase your height naturally. Any products claiming to do so, such as sleep aids, pills, supplements, or stretching techniques, are not scientifically proven to be effective.
This is because growth plate fusion is an irreversible process. There is no way to undo or reverse the fusion of growth plates and thus, no way to increase height naturally.
Adults who are looking to increase their height cannot use Human Growth Hormone (HGH) therapy to stimulate bone growth. This is because after puberty, the growth plates in our bones begin to fuse with the bone they are connected to, thus making it impossible for HGH to stimulate new bone growth.
This usually happens around the age of 18 when the growth plates are closed and HGH therapy will not increase height.
However, younger adults between the ages of 18 and 24 may still have open growth plates if they experienced premature birth or slow aging. This slower than normal development could delay the closure of their growth plates and allow them to gain more height. To determine if the growth plates are still open, a bone age test can be conducted.
Bottomline
As we age, it is normal to experience a decrease in height due to the loss of bone mineral density. This occurs because of osteoporosis and the shortening of the spinal column. To prevent this, it is essential to maintain strong bones throughout adulthood.
This should include regular weight-bearing exercises, a nutritious diet that is rich in calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K, as well as avoiding any risk factors such as smoking and alcohol abuse.
Unfortunately, the only way to permanently increase your height as an adult is through a surgical procedure, such as leg-lengthening surgery.
This operation is not only risky, but also expensive and painful, and requires a long period of recovery and rehabilitation. For those with a growth hormone deficiency, HGH therapy can help to increase bone mineral density.