Squatting
It should be obvious from the rest of this web site
that squatting is of immense importance in maintaining the mobility of many
parts of the body such as the ankle, the knee, the hip joint and the
spine. Why then, you may ask, do I only
suggest a few minutes a day of squatting as opposed to half an hour at least of
slumped sitting?
The answer is probably that it is less convenient,
less easy to do in any form of tight clothing and not particularly comfortable,
if one has not been squatting since childhood.
Don't forget however how effective even five minutes of squatting will
be, as a stretch, in comparison with only 10 seconds or 30 seconds spent
stretching the particular muscle. This
is why these small items of lifestyle are so immensely important to Natural
Joint Mobility. It should also be noted
that squatting is used as a normal ground sitting position by the most
naturally living peoples and almost certainly has been for the last 5 million
years. Numerous problems will be caused
by the lack of squatting in our lifestyle.
The Principle of Ndjmayl once again!
As with slumped sitting, there follows a large list of
the positive effects on various parts of the body. The mechanical effect in stretching the
spine, the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm will be very similar to slumped
sitting. I will therefore start with one
or two effects which are different.
1) The Pelvis.
When squatting the hip joints will be in full flexion.
The muscles that limit this flexion are attached to the Ilium on each side and
will apply a flexion force to these bones of the pelvis. This force will be opposed by the forces
applied by the spine onto the pelvis.
Some of these forces will be applied to the ilia but most of the forces
from the spine will be applied to the sacrum, which is the direct continuation
of the spine. Many of the most important
spinal muscles connect to the most prominent part of the sacrum via the erector
spinae apponeurosis.
The effect of these two opposing forces is to apply a
large flexion force on the sacrum inside the pelvis whenever we are
squatting. That is: a large flexion
force on the sacro--iliac joints. This has
been happening for hours per day for 5 million years. On the Ndjmayl principle the ligaments around
the sacroiliac joint will have strengthened to withstand this flexion
force. If we do not squat in our
lifestyle, then these ligaments will tend to limit the mobility of the
sacroiliac joint unnaturally and, since it is not a very mobile joint anyway,
the mobility may be completely lost. As
I tell my patients, most osteopaths and chiropractors make most of their money
by loosening the sacro-iliac joints.
These joints are involved in almost all cases of low back pain and seem
to be able to cause all sorts of pain both locally in the buttock and down the
leg.
There is another, possibly more important, implication
here. I'm suggesting that the mobility
of the sacroiliac joint will be significantly greater in those who live in natural
lifestyle, which includes squatting. The
mobility of the sacroiliac joint will be important in childbirth in two
detailed ways. If the local ligaments
around the joint allow significant flexion then they will also be looser and
allow these joints to separate more, as they are required to do, during
childbirth. In addition a large mobility
in the sacroiliac joint implies a looser, that is longer, sacro-spinous
ligament, (and possibly other ligaments also).
It is often said that childbirth is far more difficult
for those living our lifestyle than for those who live a more natural
lifestyle. The lack of squatting may be
an important part of this.
2) Rounded Back, Dowagers Hump etc. (excessively kyphotic upper thoracic spine)
I have explained under slumped sitting (or will have
done when I get it written!) why these forms of sitting do not cause a rounded
upper back and are in fact the best way of avoiding this normal consequence of
a civilised lifestyle. The desirable effect is even stronger when
squatting and this may well be why the upper back and neck of the most
naturally living peoples is so beautifully straight.