Growing older is inevitable and as we do, there are some other inevitable changes taking place.  These changes are not the usual suspects we can feel or see when looking in a mirror – graying of hair, receding hairline, jowls forming, sagging and wrinkled skin or stiffening of joints. Besides those undeniable signs of aging, there are other less subtle changes occurring from our head to our toes.  Wisdom may come with age but along with it also comes widening, deepening and longer physical characteristics that have been happening over the years.

Here are some ways our bodies will change as the years go by:

·Our voice changes

Sometime during middle age, there will be changes within our vocal cords and the structures associated with it.  For example, the muscles of the vocal cords atrophy, nerve fibers that allow their movement degenerate, tissues around them swell and break down, and cartilage of the larynx (voice box) stiffens.  Once these changes happen, the ability of the vocal cords to vibrate properly is interfered with.  The result is a weaker or rougher sounding voice or even one that may be lower or higher in register.  Women may not have such a dramatic change as soon as a man due to the fact that estrogen in women delays some of these changes.

·Our nose droops down

By the time we reach adolescence, our bones along with our nose stops growing but its shape continues to change over time.  Our nose is composed of bone, soft tissue/skin and cartilage which may change shape as you age.  Ligaments and other connective tissues that hold up the tip of the nose weaken.  The maxilla bone (located above the teeth and under the nose tip) recedes, contributing to the droopy look.  Another aspect of giving the illusion our nose has grown longer is the fact of the flattening of the forehead area above the nose.

·The female pelvis widens and then shrinks

The female pelvis is wider than a man’s from puberty until age 40.  But in middle age women, the pelvis narrows. This could be related to estrogen which increases during puberty and then declines with the start of perimenopause.  The hormone estrogen affects bone growth and it may be adaptive since a wider pelvis during reproductive years allows a baby to easily pass through the birth canal whereas a narrow pelvis increases pelvic floor stability.

·Our feet get longer and wider

If you’ve noticed you’ve had to buy a different size of shoe lately, blame it on your age.  Over the years, our feet flatten out.  As they flatten, the arch lengthens and your feet get longer and wider.  This flattening of feet is due to a weakening of the tendon that connects a muscle on the back of the shin bone with the foot.  This structural change alters how the foot absorbs stress when walking or running, and can result in foot pain and overuse injuries. Pregnancy can also commonly cause feet to widen, partly a result of the ligaments associated with this arch becoming laxer due to the pregnancy hormones that relax ligaments in the feet as well as increases in body weight pressing down on the foot. 

·Our ears grow longer and wider

Both men and women will most likely notice a change in ear shape with age.  Factors contributing to this include age-related reductions in skin elasticity and connective tissue strength.  Another contributor to this is due to gravity causing the cartilage in your ears to break down and sag.  This results in droopier, longer features, noticeable in our ears. 

·Our eye sockets widen

One prominent change to occur is an increase in the area of the “orbital aperture” – our eye sockets.  In both men and women, they eye sockets become wider and longer with age. Expanding eye sockets make the face look older, since they cause, soft, fatty tissues around the eyes to bunch up leading to various physical changes such as more visible crow’s feet and excess skin hanging over the eyelids.

Even though these physical changes of life are not necessarily welcome changes, remember we’re all going through this together.  We may not look quite the same as we did in our younger years but how we age is often related back to genetics and our overall eating and exercise habits.    In the meantime, just be glad you’re still around and learn to enjoy life to its fullest – changes and all!