15
October
2018
|
07:00 AM
America/New_York

Shrinking With Age: "What Do You Mean I'm An Inch Shorter Than I Used To Be?"

Next Tribe featured HSS orthopedic trauma surgeon Joseph M. Lane, MD, and chief of Spine Service Frank Schwab, MD, in an article about losing height as you get older.

According to the article, the chemical composition of spinal discs changes and retains less water as people age.

"We all lose some of the water content in the disc, so the discs settle down. And if you think of the whole spinal column, and you think just a few millimeters but across an entire spine, it all adds up, so we get shorter with age," said Dr. Schwab.

"You can't change your genetics. Some people will get shorter faster than others, and some people will be curved forward more than others. It's very hard to change that," Dr. Schwab added.

To help prevent osteoporosis, Dr. Lane recommended taking vitamin D and calcium.

Read the full article at nexttribe.com.