Hello guys. At 5'10, many of you might think that I am not legitimately short and should get on with my life. However, in my country and peer group, this would roughly correspond to an American 5'7 (3 inches below average), and at this point of deviation from the mean, you are essentially "shortish" and will be overshadowed by taller people on a very regular basis.
I'm not doing this to have a career (I'm not interested in worldly/economic achievement) or to get dates (I can get those already if I want to, and I'm not very interested in sex and romance compared to the average guy), but solely to cope with "height dysphoria" (my father is 6'3, and I always wanted to be "close" to him). This may sound autistic, but there is something about the idea of being 180+ cm that puts my mind at ease (ideally I would want to be at least 183, but at 180 I would no longer really "feel short" since 5 cm below average is not very noticeable, especially if I wear thick but not comically thick footwear).
In addition to considering leg lengthening (perhaps in a year or two, at which point I will be 26) I have experimented with stretching my shoulders and spine to make the most of my present height through postural perfection. I was truly shocked to find out that after a few days of stretching for just a few minutes a day, I had "grown" to stand comfortably at a flat 5'11 (near 5'11.5 with military posture) when before, with all my might, I couldn't so much as touch 5'10.5.
I ceased stretching for a few days and found myself back at 5'10 (5'10.25 with the most rigorous posture attainable) and unable to assume the posture (wrists, elbows, and shoulders touching the wall) that I had been using for my exercises. After a short regimen, I was back at an easy 5'11. Does this suggest that 5'11 is my "real" height? It doesn't seem to be what has been called "daily shrinkage" (I was 5'10.25 in the morning at best and 5'10 flat in the late night after a wearisome day, never managed so much as 5'10.5 regardless of how long I slept before I started stretching). Perhaps some of you guys should look into this, especially if you (like me) aren't fit and mostly computer/desk-bound.
Now, proportions. My legs are slightly short compared to my torso, but it doesn't at all stand out since it's very minor--at 6', my legs would be just a teeny bit "too long", which is actually aesthetically ideal as far as I'm concerned. My arms are fairly long at 91-92 cm from shoulder to fingertip, and my overall wingspan is nearly 6'3, so even if I do two inches, which will put me at 6' at least, I will still have arms that are a tad "too long" for my frame. Leg lengthening, then, might actually improve my bodily proportions. I also have a fairly large head and long clavicles.
Hopefully we will all be able to make our height-related dreams come true! See you around, fellow aspirants. 
Hey guy, why do you have to be a dck? Surely picking on people with height dysphoria is not the ideal time expenditure. Focus on your own issues.
Hello, thanks for your informative and encouraging responses, guys (the bad apple aside!). I actually wear 0.5 inch insoles in my timberland boots and sneakers, subtle but sweet.
It seems that the height that I gained from stretching is regained "morning height" after all, for most the part (save for 0.25 inches or so). I am just over 5'10 and a quarter at night (just measured myself, been up since early morning and it's past 9 pm), and that's the height that I will "claim" I think, since I want to be able to reproduce my stated height under any non-exceptional circumstances, regardless of the time of the day.
My inseam measures 29 inches, is that short for my size? I never perceived my torso to be long in the past, but now that I think about it and have corrected my daily posture, I look quite a bit taller sitting down (long arms also contributes to this).
If I go for 2 inches on my tibiae (making me a bit over 6' at night), that should logicallly make my inseam measure 31", right? This may be a very stupid question, but anyhow.
Again thanks for the warm reception.
I live in Sweden. I don't really feel short, but certainly "shortish", given that I am slightly below average in stature. Especially considering the fact that I hang out in upper class social circles.
My shoulders are big (biacromial width of 43,5 cm, supposedly 95th percentile for "Caucasian" men), my hips are narrow (32 cm), my legs are average or shortish. I'm sure I would look a tad better at 6' overall, though I unfortunately have pretty small hands and feet (19,5 cm hands, size 43 EU feet)--however, this isn't an obstacle for me.
According to my calculations, at 6'0,25 my inseam/height ratio will be 0,48 or slightly under. This is within the "normal" range as I understand, though perhaps on the long-legged side. In any event, I think relatively long legs is a good look (so long as they have some mass).
Thanks for the advice, Android and others! As for the person who thinks that he can so much as annoy me by attempting to demean my ethnic group, just lol. Time to grow up (no pun intended).
I bought a stadiometer to ensure proper height measurements. Yesterday, I woke up slightly north of 5'11 and held a comfortable 179-179.5 cm even in the late night (I didn't really exert myself heavily though, remained seated for most of the day). Recently fixed my anterior pelvic tilt, so perhaps I am able to retain more height now as my lumbar configuration has improved.
Think I will go for something like 4 cm on femurs, making me a minimum of 182 cm, which is an OK/good height in my situation. The smaller the increase, the smoother the recovery, I figure. If this proves insufficient in the long run, I would much rather opt for a second operation a couple of years down the line, adding 2-3 cm to my tibiae. I think that if I added 5+ cm to my femurs alone, things would start to look (and function) a bit sub-optimal.
As for my "bike inseam", I don't know how thick "a book" is supposed to be, but my testicles are presently 82 cm from the ground.
Quote from: Bander72 on November 05, 2017, 11:54:49 AMThere won't be things working in a optimal level. In fact you will be less atlethic. So if you are referring to looking better then perhaps you will depending on proportions but your body function is at its peak right know.
Yes, I am referring to looks exclusively. I don't have any need to be particularly athletic. However, I wouldn't want to be unable to run and do basic outdoorsy stuff either, so functionality is of course important up to a point.
Wow, apparently I performed the wrong kind of arm length measurement. My arms are actually just a little over 32" (82 cm) from acromion to fingertip. Would that look OK at 6'?
EDIT: I'm overthinking this I guess. Since my arms definitely don't look short now, they won't at 4-5+ cm either.
Quote from: Body Builder on November 05, 2017, 01:59:15 PMI think you should lengthen 1.2 cm your arms to look ok with the 3cm femur lengthening you want to do.
I sincerely doubt that breaking my humeri would be worth it for only 1.2 cm. Does anyone know the average arm length?
Quote from: Body Builder on November 05, 2017, 01:59:15 PMI think you should lengthen 1.2 cm your arms to look ok with the 3cm femur lengthening you want to do.
I sincerely doubt that breaking my humeri would be worth it for only 1.2 cm. Does anyone know the average arm length?
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