Old age doesn’t only mean grey hair and wrinkled skin. It can also make an individual look short. This is not only a cosmetic change, but also an indicator of bone health.
How much height do we loose?
By age 40, most people begin loosing height. Women loose more height as the bone loss accelerates after menopause. By age 70, women loose closer to 2 inch and men loose 1 inch. By 80, both men and women loose another inch.
Why does this happen?
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Osteoporosis - Osteoporosis is the main cause of spinal shrinkage especially in women. When an osteoporotic hip bone or wrist bone breaks, it is seen as a crack. However vertebral fractures are different. Thin vertebrae don’t crack, but rather get crushed like a cardboard box after too much weight is placed on them. These vertebral compression fractures result in loss of height. Moreover, as we age, the discs between vertebrae gradually compress and flatten resulting in loss of height.
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Muscle weakness - Abdominal and lower back muscles weaken, leading to poor posture and difficult to keep the spine upright.
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Feet changes - The arches of feet can flatten with time, contributing to overall height loss.
How can we prevent this?
- Maintaining optimum calcium and vitamin D3 levels
- Resistance training
- Posture correction exercises
- Screening for osteoporosis
When to see a doctor?
Gradual height loss is common with age. However, a doctor should be consulted if there is one to two inches or more height loss within a single year. It could indicate osteoporosis or another medical issue.
MBH/PS