This article has been kindly shared by Alison Richmond from Provention.
Believe it or not, the natural resting position of a person is not a chair or couch
– it’s a squatting position, commonly referred to as the flatfoot squat.
However, squatting is not a common or feasible posture for many of the modern sitting requirements, such as working at a computer and driving. As a consequence, back pain caused by long periods of sitting is common. In this latest blog post, we share why you should incorporate the flatfoot squat into your movements and as a regular exercise, especially if you sit for long periods of time. We also share a Provention video below showing how to perform this squat correctly and safely.
“Sitting for long periods of time is wrecking your body” – Provention
Doing this movement regularly can help to keep the hip joints healthy and mobile, improve lumbar disc health, relieve low back muscle pain and improve bowel health. It’s an important exercise to counter the damage caused of modern society activities.
Natural Movement and the rise of the flatfoot squat
Those of you who are familiar with our First Move programmes will know that we advocate and teach the flatfoot squat and hip joint movement as the safe and effective way to bend and move. Not only is this a great way to move, it’s also a fabulous exercise for releasing the tension in your lower back, for ‘normalising’ the fluid in your discs and joints at the end of the day and it’s one of the best exercises for avoiding arthritis in your hips.
The basis of this movement is in moving the way we were designed to move. This is evident in how children move and how other cultures that don’t have chairs continue to move throughout their lives.
When we started teaching these movements 10 plus years ago they were seen as ‘weird.’ Very few people had been exposed to this as the way to move safely and effectively to avoid injury.
These days many exercise disciplines and health professionals treating injuries advocate the flatfoot squat as an important functional movement for mobility, strength and wellbeing.
TED TALK by Roger Frampton titled ‘Why Sitting Down Destroys You’ gives a fantastic outline of natural movements such as the flatfoot squat are so important. His key points are:
- Sitting in a chair is harmful
- If we move the way we are designed to move muscles will automatically ‘work’ and ‘fire’ the way they should. This will ensure good posture, strength and avoidance of injury.
- Many exercise regimes are ‘flawed’ and counterproductive to good posture and functional movement
- The ‘S’ bend curve of the spine we have all been told is ‘good’ is not actually ideal
Benefits of the flatfoot squat
There are many benefits of doing the flatfoot squat regularly. Here are some of the main ones:
Hip joints
Regular squatting: Keeps the hip joint healthy and mobile and avoids hip joint arthritis and resulting hip joint replacements
Low back
Regular squatting: Improves lumbar disc health and ‘undoes the damage’ of modern society activities such as: sitting for long periods and repetitive standing, bending and twisting activities, and relieves low back muscle pain and tension
Bowel health
The modern-day toilet has been linked to bowel cancers, irritable bowel and other bowel related issues. Using squat toilets is the natural and ideal way to go to the bathroom
How to do the flatfoot squat
In the Provention video below, we share how to do the flatfoot squat correctly. If you decide to try the movement, take care if you have any knee pain and avoid the activity if there is any discomfort.
