We sit all the time: at the dining table and work table, on the way to work and back, in a chair with a book and on the sofa in front of the TV. And only sometimes do we waste time on the road from one chair to another and on short exercise sessions. Even if you exercise enough and sit for long periods of time, you still run the risk of Too Much Sitting: The Population-Health Science of Sedentary Behavior. get health problems and die earlier.
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But there is good news: we can reduce the harm from this lifestyle by squatting more often. This is good not only for the joints, but also for the body as a whole.
How does the squatting position affect your health?
In his book “Muscles and Meridians. Manipulation of Shape" (Muscles and Meridians: The Manipulation of Shape), New Zealand osteopath Philip Beach formulated the theory of archetypal poses. Its essence is that there are primary provisions that our ancestors accepted two and a half million years ago. And they are not just useful. Our body itself is designed so that a person can remain in a certain position for a long time without harm to the body. Including - squatting, Turkish or Japanese (on your knees with support on your heels).
There is no scientific research to support the theory of archetypal poses. But medicine does not deny their benefits.
It all comes down to the simple principle of “use it or lose it.” Each of our joints contains synovial fluid. It is like a lubricant that nourishes the cartilage. For fluid to be produced, two things are needed: movement and compression. If a joint doesn't move through its full range of motion, such as the hips and knees never flexing more than 90 degrees, the body thinks it's not being used—and stops producing synovial fluid.
physiotherapist Bahram Jam
In other words, if you want to maintain joint mobility and flexibility for as long as possible, bend your knees more often. For example, squat down. Research also confirms the positive effect of this position on intestinal motility Implementation of a Defecation Posture Modification Device.
A healthy musculoskeletal system not only makes us flexible and agile, it affects our life expectancy.
Doctors from Brazil and the United States have concluded that flexibility, muscle strength and balance are important for a long, healthy life. They asked study participants to sit on the floor and then rise in a comfortable manner. Observations of ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor of all‑cause mortality in patients aged 51 to 80 years showed that those who stand up easily have a life expectancy three years longer than those who do not. who cannot rise without support.
Where were squats used?
In the past, the most common way to give birth and use the toilet was to squat. But the less people use this pose, the weaker the muscles involved in this process become. Therefore, squatting is included in their complexes both in fitness and yoga classes. Exercise increases leg strength by moving blood, warming up the body and improving muscle tone. In this case, there is no excessive impact on the joints.
Although few people talk about this delicate problem, according to experts, it is best to defecate in a squatting position. This is a more natural position for the colon. When the concept of the throne toilet was developed in ancient times, it was a huge step forward for gut health.
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Apart from this, squats have many benefits. There are several known. When people do this exercise, they use muscle groups that they don't use unless they squat. After all, many people constantly complain about back pain, but still continue to sit throughout the day and do nothing effective.
What prevents us from squatting?
One possible reason why standing up without support becomes difficult is that as we age, we squat less and less often. Although the deep squat is a form of active recreation that has been an integral part of our past. We simply forgot how to sit down comfortably and lost the skill of getting up without effort.
Another explanation has to do with the evolution of toilets. When chamber pots and prototypes of toilets replaced holes in the ground, the need to squat was no longer necessary. Now it is physically difficult for us to be in such a position, and therefore we avoid it.
Other benefits of civilization also interfere with taking a useful pose more often. Sitting like this in the office can be extremely beneficial for the hip joints, but the wardrobe of a modern person, not to mention business etiquette, makes this impossible. It’s a rare case when we vividly imagine a politician or a top manager in a suit squatting, this is a staged photograph with cute kids. At the same time, people sitting in the same position on the sidewalk most often make us want to quickly pass by.
This pose is considered primitive and associated with low social status. We immediately imagine Indian peasants or African nomads, we remember the unsanitary conditions on city streets.
physiotherapist Bahram Jam
And although it may seem uncomfortable and undignified to us, many people on the planet still take this position to rest, pray, cook or go to the toilet. In countries where there are not enough hospitals, women still give birth in this position. Little children all over the world plop down on their haunches when they learn to walk - and easily get up to walk.
Why squat
Initially, many people wonder why to do this. In the US, it is generally rare to see people squatting. This pose is regularly used by people in other countries. They usually avoid chairs when eating, talking, or simply resting.
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In some countries of the world, unlike the United States, the super low squat is practiced, which differs from a regular sports exercise. However, it also has health benefits.
Typical squats in the gym and in other countries are almost the same, but differ in the range of motion and its use. Both methods have their advantages. However, squats in the gym with added weight are more effective because they work more muscles than in everyday life.
How often should you squat?
Do not rush to say goodbye to the chairs in order to return to your “original” squat. The same Philip Beach warns: any pose leads to problems if you stay in it for too long. This is confirmed by research from the Association of squatting with increased prevalence of radiographic tibiofemoral knee osteoarthritis: the Beijing Osteoarthritis Study in China and the USA: those who squat for hours are more likely to have knee pain and develop osteoarthritis - damage to various joint tissues. If you don’t do this in normal life, feel free to squat more often. This will only bring benefits.
How to squat correctly
Although these exercises are essential, you should take precautions when performing them. Squatting suddenly can cause back injuries.
Initially, start slow squats for 2-3 minutes a day. Over time, their pace and duration increase.
There are situations when squats are simply necessary for health or they are needed to build muscle mass. In the case of the latter option, you need to keep the weight on your heels, while straightening your chest and shoulders.
When the exercise is performed in a standing position, it is necessary to squeeze the muscles of the buttocks. If a person leans forward or backward while performing squats, the likelihood of injury increases.
“Slavic squats”: why are we comfortable in an unnatural position?
But scientists claim that the “on the courts” pose appeared in human everyday life much earlier than the first prison was opened. Therefore, the negative connotation of this body position is not at all deserved, and the attitude towards it requires an objective review, from the point of view of official science.
Notice how often small children who are just learning to walk upright squat. It is very comfortable for them to sit with their legs apart, and they can go about their business this way for quite a long time, for example, digging in the sand.
Some babies are even delivered from the squatting position, as this is one of the traditional birth positions for many peoples, starting with the ancient Egyptians. Modern doctors still believe that this position is the most justified for proper childbirth, because it helps to expand the birth canal and create additional pressure in the pelvic cavity.
But more often they simply sit on their haunches, considering this body position comfortable. Many are able to spend long hours like this without experiencing the slightest discomfort. How does our body work when we sit “on the courts” and are there really any health risks with frequent and prolonged use of this position?
Squatting requires strong flexion (hyperflexion) of all three major joints: ankle, knee and hip. It is well known that prolonged sitting in this position can cause osteoarthritis of the knee and even damage to the common peroneal nerve.
But the main danger of this position is that by constantly practicing such sitting, a person earns a “squatting position complex” - a characteristic change in the surface of the joints of the legs, which cannot be called positive.
Curved, smoothed areas appear on the joints of a person who abuses the “courts,” and long-term compressed vessels gradually go deep into the tissue, leaving characteristic grooves on the bones. The recess of the tibia increases significantly, and the talus of the metatarsus, which rests on it, lengthens. This allows you to flex your foot more without creating tension in the joints and ligaments.
Strong flexion in the knee joint causes the appearance of additional divisions on its surface - facets. The famous anthropologist Stanislav Drobyshevsky claims that initially this structure of the knee joint was characteristic of the black population of the planet and was even considered one of the racial characteristics.
But later it became obvious that this feature is acquired and it appears in representatives of any races and peoples who like to squat. Anthropologists are well aware of all the anatomical signs of lovers of this position, since they are found on the remains of people who lived in ancient times.
The “squatting complex” was recorded in skeletons dating back to the Upper Paleolithic era, discovered at the Sungir site in the Vladimir region. These remains are approximately 34 thousand years old, but even then, in the territory of what is now Russia, people were not averse to sitting “on the courts.”
The same knee facets were found on the skeletons of early farmers of South Africa who lived more than 20 thousand years ago. As for Neanderthals, scientists argue that their lower limbs were much better suited for squatting than the bones and joints of modern humans.
The situation “on the courts” can rightfully be considered international, since people of different eras, in different parts of the planet, from Ancient Hellas to modern China, rested in this way. The eHRAF World Cultures anthropological database states that squatting is more common than using a chair in the modern world. For residents of Southeast Asia, this body position is so typical that in the West, along with the term slav squats, the wording Asian squats appeared.
The surprise of the English-speaking world with its predilection for “courts” is not difficult to understand. For most Americans and Western Europeans, this position is uncomfortable and even painful. They can stay in it for only a few minutes, and the ability of Russian gopniks and Chinese workers to squat for hours is perceived by them as a kind of phenomenon.
The inhabitants of the planet are gradually losing the ability to sit comfortably in this position. Research has found that even residents of the Japanese islands are gradually losing the ability to squat for long periods of time. In 2009, it was experimentally found that 22% of Japanese students could not hold out for even a few minutes in this position.
But the point here is not at all the level of development of this or that people. Squatting requires strong dorsiflexion, that is, the arch of the foot upward. In this case, discomfort and even pain occur primarily in the Achilles tendon. A child's foot can deviate 70 degrees without any problems, but most adults cannot boast of even a modest 30 percent.
Squatting during the working day is necessary for health
Sitting for 8-9 hours every day is unhealthy. In this position, muscle tension occurs and a negative effect on the spine. Scientific research confirms that office work is associated with negative health consequences, regardless of a person's physical activity.
Taking a break during your workday and squatting for even 30 seconds can strengthen important muscle groups. Perhaps this is the simplest solution that can relieve spinal problems and swollen ankles.
New York-based naturopathic physician, nurse practitioner, and founder of holistic medicine, Erica Matluk, believes that due to the sedentary position of office workers, they simply need to squat.
Sherman Oakes, a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor in California, says the most important benefit of this exercise is preventing glute inactivity.
