What Age Do We Really Stop Growing?

[Guest My_Genesis]

OK, well I'm 18, and I'm 5'6", and I know I'm probably hopeless when it comes to growing any taller , but I had a friend tell me that her mom said you don't really stop growing until your 20's like around 20-21. I don't know if she means height growth, like maybe at that point, that's when your growth plates completely seal? I don't know..the thing I realized, though, is that wisdom teeth come in between the ages of 17-21 or even 22, so I figured that since teeth are basically part of your skeletal system, doesn't that technically mean your bones are still growing? I mean if you're done growing by 16 or 17, wouldn't you think that by then you'd also have a full set of teeth?

Is there any way I'd be able to somehow "expand" my height, by like exercising or something? I'm guessing it's probably too late for that, just thought I'd shoot the question out there and see what happens. :shrugs:

[Guest KaseyFox]

I'm 23 and 5'3". Always been vertically challenged. I've just come to terms that i'll always be this short, i guess. Sorry that wasn't much help

-Kasey

[Guest theEND]

By the time you're 18 you're probably not going to get a whole lot taller. But then again 5'6" isn't that small, so it could be worse

[Guest My_Genesis]

I found this link from someone on answerbag.com..it sounds like a scam - what do you think?

http://www.your-growth.com/

[Guest theEND]

I found this link from someone on answerbag.com..it sounds like a scam - what do you think?

http://www.your-growth.com/

It might be genuine..but I think most of those things are fake though. Like those website that tell you they can make you loose 10 lbs a week if you pay enough for their course, but maybe I'm just too skeptical

[Guest CharlieRose]

What if you're... seventeen and a half when you start taking hormones? That's when I want to start. I was a late bloomer, (as far as puberty goes) and I'm only 5'2.5", which, I guess I'm okay with, I've always been short, even for a girl, but I'd like to be a little bit taller.

[Guest My_Genesis]

It might be genuine..but I think most of those things are fake though. Like those website that tell you they can make you loose 10 lbs a week if you pay enough for their course, but maybe I'm just too skeptical

yeah i really dont know..in the testimonials a lot of people that are in like their 30's and 40's said they grew a few centimeters (or even inches) taller...there was also a girl from the UK who was 5'8", I think she grew a couple inches, and she said she was i think 21 or 22. Maybe the company paid them to say that

By the time you're 18 you're probably not going to get a whole lot taller. But then again 5'6" isn't that small, so it could be worse

you said "a whole lot"...as in, I could still grow more??

I was also a "late bloomer" and didn't hit 5'6" until i was i believe around 16...before then i was 5'4" for im guessing about 2-3 years. but i was always on the tall end for my age, somewhere around the 75%ile. 5'6" is still kinda short for a guy..I know it could be worse, I'm being perfectionistic again ...I wanted to be at least 5'8"-5'9", which is the 50th%ile/average for a male...oh well

[Guest Cal]

I'm 5'3 and I don't have my wisdom teeth yet, so that's a good sign if they are related. I'm getting T next week, so does that mean I'll have a growth spurt if my bone plates haven't sealed? I'm 17

[Guest My_Genesis]

Actually, one of my wisdom teeth on the bottom have just started coming in..I was kinda disappointed But it's growing very slowly...it hasn't grown at all since I noticed a few weeks ago, which might be good if my theory has any truth to it..can't give up yet!

Well, last night I was reading Yahoo Answers, as well as Wikipedia. This is what wikipedia says:

Epiphyseal plates are present in growing bones. They are found in children and are present through puberty and early adulthood.[1] These plates are located at one or both ends of bones between the epiphysis (end) and the diaphysis (shaft) of long bones. Growth occurs towards the diaphysis or shaft of the long bone.[2] In most adults, the epiphyseal plates ossify by the mid twenties and growth arrests.[1]

Mid-twenties?? So is there still a chance??

Also, there were many people on Yahoo who said that they didn't stop growing until their early 20's like 21 or 22, and some of them said they even had another growth spurt at 18-19..yes the majority of them were guys ...but I seem to follow the male pattern of growth rather than the female one sometimes..plus I'm planning on taking calcium and zinc supplements, and doing more exercise (when i start college this year), and also more protein consumption..hopefully that will help with my height if there is any chance left..

[Guest theEND]

you said "a whole lot"...as in, I could still grow more??

I was also a "late bloomer" and didn't hit 5'6" until i was i believe around 16...before then i was 5'4" for im guessing about 2-3 years. but i was always on the tall end for my age, somewhere around the 75%ile. 5'6" is still kinda short for a guy..I know it could be worse, I'm being perfectionistic again ...I wanted to be at least 5'8"-5'9", which is the 50th%ile/average for a male...oh well

To be honest I'm not that knowledgeable. I think it depends on the person. Like for me, I had reached 5'9" by the time I was 13 and have only grown another inch since, so I think the chance of me getting significantly taller is pretty minimal..not that I mind anyway. But since you didn't start getting taller until you were older then there's a good chance you haven't finished growing yet. However, at the age of 18 I wouldn't think that you would grow an awful lot.

[Guest My_Genesis]

To be honest I'm not that knowledgeable. I think it depends on the person. Like for me, I had reached 5'9" by the time I was 13 and have only grown another inch since, so I think the chance of me getting significantly taller is pretty minimal..not that I mind anyway. But since you didn't start getting taller until you were older then there's a good chance you haven't finished growing yet. However, at the age of 18 I wouldn't think that you would grow an awful lot.

well hey 5'10" is perfect ..i think that's about average in the US, my dad is actually 5'10"..lucky you..

[Guest Seth]

I'm 5'6" for a 15 (16 in a month) year old and I'll grow some more. Hoepfully, I start T soon and I wanna grow to about 5'10", 5'11".

[Guest raydub]

Then you'll be taller than me Seth!

but that's cool.

Ray

[Guest theEND]

well hey 5'10" is perfect ..i think that's about average in the US, my dad is actually 5'10"..lucky you..

Yeah I'm pretty lucky in how tall I am, I have marfan syndrome so I've always been pretty tall. My grandpa was 6'6" To be honest even though 5'6" is on the small side for a guy, it isn't really small or anything.

[Guest Seth]

Yeah. Alot of guys these days are a little more on the shot side.

Then again, girls these days are a little more on the tall side.

[Guest Evan_J]

I think genetics plays some part (though dunno how much). Although I would agree with what you read about at least having a "shot" till mid/late twenties. Almost all of the men in my family have a final "spurt" in growth around that time. I grew another 2 to 2and a half inches in my twenties.

[Guest Cal]

So, if I'm not finished growing, will T cause me to have a male puberty type growth spurt?

Seems like all my guy friends grew about six inches the summer before highschool and left me in the dust at 5'3. Could this happen to me if my bone plates (or whatever lol) haven't sealed when I start T?

[Guest Darrel]

Aaah, it's very genetic. The general rule of thumb is you stop growing around 12 to 20. For most, it's by 14. For me, I was done hitting my peak at 10. XD

5'3"...so hard to find women shorter than me...and so hard to be accepted as a man. *sigh*

[Guest joeytheman16]

I'm 16 (17 in Dec.) and I'm only about 5'4". I would love to be 5'6" so don't think your the only short guy out there.

[Guest sphere]

I'm almost 5'2" and haven't grown an inch in years. I hate my height a lot but it's really not my main concern at this point and there's really not much if anything I can do about it. :/ I'm such a shrimp, even for someone biologically female.