Stone Rumor: Although the toilets that are popular today are luxurious and convenient, they have brought all kinds of modern diseases - hemorrhoids, constipate , colitis, appendicitis and colon cancer. People often think that the crux of these problems is insufficient dietary fiber intake, but in fact the culprit is indeed-wrong toilet posture. When you defecate in a sitting position, the puborectalis muscles are only partially relaxed. Only when you defecate in a squatting position, the muscles are completely relaxed, making defecation not only easier but also more complete. If it is inconvenient to use a squat toilet, you can also use the toilet with your feet on a small stool to reduce the angle between the thighs and the torso and achieve the effect of simulating a natural squatting posture.
The truth: This is a foreign advertisement for toilet products. After deleting the product-related content, the original intention may be to tell everyone the correct information. healthy Toilet knowledge. However, what is said in this infographic is not scientific. Squatting can indeed make defecation with less effort and shorten defecation time, but sitting and defecation is not a variety of anorectal. disease The main culprit, and trying to simulate the effect of squatting and pulling by standing on a small bench is completely cheating.
Squatting is indeed smoother
The theoretical basis for believing that squatting is better than sitting for defecation mainly lies in a muscle called the "puborectalis". This muscle starts from the pubic bone on one side, goes around the back of the rectum, and then returns to the pubic bone on the other side, forming a ring that just pulls the rectal hook and makes the rectum form an angle with the tip forward, called the "anorectal angle". Generally, the anorectal angle in a sitting position is about 80-90°, while in a squatting position, the anorectal angle can reach about 100°. Theoretically, the larger the anorectal angle, the less effort required during defecation.
Sitting has nothing to do with disease
From this point of view, it seems that squatting is better than sitting. Wait a minute, the conclusion that "defeating in a squatting position reduces constipation" derived from "the anorectal angle is larger when defecating in a squatting position" implies a premise, that is, "constipation is caused by a too small anorectal angle." But in fact, although a larger anorectal angle can make defecation less forceful and reduce defecation time, the decisive factor in the onset of constipation is not the anorectal angle.
There are many causes of constipation, including:
age. Constipation is more common among the elderly than among the younger generation. However, diseases and drugs are also very important triggers.
Suppress the urge to have bowel movements.
Changes in living habits, such as holidays and travel.
Hormonal changes during pregnancy or menopause.
Taking certain medications, including antacids, strong painkillers (such as morphine), and some antidepressants.
Some diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and diabetes.
The role of the anorectal angle is not mentioned.
It should be said that constipation is a pathological state, which is the feeling of having a disease first and then having difficulty defecating. Squatting may partially relieve the symptoms of difficult defecation, but this does not mean that squatting will prevent constipation, or that sitting will cause constipation. Just like applying hot water to the abdomen can relieve Dysmenorrhea , but it does not mean that not applying hot water to the abdomen during menstruation will cause dysmenorrhea. People who do not have dysmenorrhea will not have dysmenorrhea regardless of whether they apply hot water or not.
Since a small anorectal angle during defecation does not cause constipation, the logical chain of "small anorectal angle during defecation while sitting + constipation caused by small anorectal angle = constipation caused by sitting" is broken. In other words, people with constipation will be constipated no matter whether they are sitting or squatting, but people who are not constipated will not be constipated no matter whether they are sitting or squatting. However, squatting may make it easier for people with constipation.
The situation is similar for other anorectal diseases mentioned in rumors - hemorrhoids, colitis, appendicitis and colon cancer. The difference in the anorectal angle between squatting and sitting postures is not the cause of these diseases.
Of course, this does not mean that squatting is useless in preventing diseases. The advantage of squatting for defecation is that the force required for defecation is less, and the conscious emptying time of the person defecating is shorter. for coronary heart disease For people at high risk of stroke, straining during defecation is an important cause of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular accidents. Usually, for people who are at higher risk of myocardial infarction or stroke, doctors will use some laxative drugs to reduce their effort during defecation to reduce the risk. Squatting has the effect of reducing the force of defecation, which is theoretically beneficial to preventing accidents during defecation. However, most of the high-risk groups for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular accidents are medium-sized elderly , physical strength is relatively weak, and the force on the legs and knees is relatively large when squatting, and accidents such as slipping and fractures are prone to occur. Therefore, for them, squatting may not necessarily provide a huge advantage over sitting.
Stepping on a small bench? I'm cheating on your father.
Rumors recommend using your feet to step on a small bench to reduce the angle between your thighs and your torso, simulating the same effect as squatting to defecate. Does this work? Unfortunately, the answer is no.
Some scientists studied the anorectal angle in three postures: normal sitting (thigh and trunk are at 90°), leg-raising sitting (thigh and trunk are at 60°), and squatting. They found that the anorectal angle of squatting was significantly greater than sitting, but there was no difference between the two sitting postures. Other studies suggest that the emptying time and abdominal force of squatting are less than those of sitting, but there is no difference between regular sitting and leg-raising sitting. Therefore, although stepping on a small bench can reduce the angle between the thigh and the trunk, it does not help in straightening the anorectal angle, nor does it help reduce the pressure of defecation.
Anorectal angle in three defecation postures. The anorectal angle is the largest in the squatting position, while the anorectal angles in the normal sitting position (thigh and trunk are at 90°) and the leg-raised sitting position (thigh and trunk are at 60°) are basically the same.
Conclusion: Rumors busted.
Squatting can indeed make bowel movements smoother, but it does not prevent constipation. Sitting to defecate does not increase the risk of hemorrhoids, constipation, colitis, appendicitis and colon cancer. In addition, squatting can reduce abdominal force and may have certain advantages in preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular accidents during defecation, but sitting with legs elevated is completely useless.
