Spine Lengthening To Grow Taller - Possible?

On limb lengthening discussion platforms, you may frequently encounter questions about alternative ways of growing taller. There are people who wonder if it is possible to grow in any other way than leg lengthening surgery, for example by some kind of method that can perform spine lengthening.

Limb lengthening for cosmetic purposes involves lengthening femur or tibia bones in legs, as these are tube-like one piece long bones, and it is a relatively easy and straightforward process to cut these bones and perform bone lengthening. Arm or finger/toe lengthening can also be performed when there is a medical need, because these are also similar to femur or tibia bones in structure.

As for spine lengthening: In order to be able to do the same on spinal cord, it would require the spinal cord to be a single bone, with no vital nerves going through. However, the structure of spinal cord is made of separate vertebrae made of bone tissue, with spinal discs made of fibrous tissue. It is quite obvious that it is impossible to cut each vertebra and lengthen each of them with a separate fixator device.

On the other hand, it is known that the spinal cord has a certain elasticity and can change its length due to its structure. If we hang on a bar for example, our spinal cord will stretch and the gap between vertebrae will increase. However, it is only a temporary condition and it will go back to initial position after some time. Thus, our “height gain” will not be a permanent and long-lasting one.

To summarize what is written above: it is not possible to lengthen the spine in order to become taller. Currently the only available method to grow taller is limb lengthening surgery.