Constipation is one of the most common pediatric complaints. While dietary modifications and medications are certainly mainstays in my toolkit for constipation remedies, I also add toilet stools— simple footstools that elevate your knees above your hips when you sit on a toilet.
Why Does Position Matter?
If you’ve ever traveled to Asia, you may be familiar with the customary squatting position to evacuate your bowels and bladder. You may even see toddlers in diapers squat and focus when they are doing their doody. When we squat, we change the angle of our anorectal canal, relaxing muscles involved in defecation, and we put pressure on the bowel and bladder, helping to completely empty their contents. When we sit, we miss out on that positional advantage and rely more on straining.
How Can You Improve Your Defecation Posture While Using a Toilet?
When it comes to young children, they most definitely need a footstool in front of their toilets. When toddlers are first becoming potty trained, toddler potties— which sit on the floor— automatically force the knees up while feet stay flat on the ground. On the toilet, a toddler cannot reach the floor at all. Toilet stools help small children climb up onto a toilet and can also help keep their feet planted and knees elevated, somewhat mimicking a squat position.
As kids get older, transitioning to a high footstool or specific toilet stool can be very helpful. There are several on the market (please note: I am not paid by any company to advertise their products). This is one I recommend.
The Downsides to Improving Your Potty Posture?
You probably did not need a study to tell you (but we have one!) that using a footstool while on the toilet comes free of any significant side effects.
In Summary
Most of us are accustomed to toilets and ignore the protests of our human anatomy. While your specific constipation situation may require more than a simple footstool, I would add this piece of bathroom decor to aid in your stooling regimen.
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For more information on intestinal health, you may like to read about cultivating your baby’s microbiome or being good to your bacterial besties.
References:
Modi, Rohan M et al. “Implementation of a Defecation Posture Modification Device: Impact on Bowel Movement Patterns in Healthy Subjects.” Journal of clinical gastroenterology vol. 53,3 (2019): 216-219. doi:10.1097/MCG.0000000000001143
Sakakibara, Ryuji et al. “Influence of Body Position on Defecation in Humans.” Lower urinary tract symptoms vol. 2,1 (2010): 16-21. doi:10.1111/j.1757-5672.2009.00057.x
https://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(22)62005-5/pdf?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthychildren.org%2F
