It’s no secret we -at least in Westernized society- sit, a lot.
We both know you don’t actually sit with this good of posture.
Sitting itself isn’t abnormal for humans. Sitting in a chair though, is. In fact, if you watch a toddler, or observe societies where chairs aren’t as common, sitting is done quite a bit, but without a chair.
(Picture originally found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/veader/3454840596/)
I’m not big on the whole “We were designed / not designed for this / that so we should act that / this way” paleo-like thinking. We do a lot evolution didn’t design us for, but I’m not about to give up clean water, or Starbucks. (The other side of “logical eating”)
However, the “Toddler Squat” is one area I take some exception. Part of me just believes this is an innate movement. Almost like walking. You know, ’cause that whole squat-to-poop deal. But also, nothing else in daily life would bring the body through all the ranges of motion I’m going to go over. Especially not all at the same time.
-> Part of what I mean by innate movement is if we don’t regularly do it, we suffer health consequences. While I love the toddler squat, nothing is on par with walking.
I fully believe if this movement and ability was maintained from being a toddler through adulthood, the amount of joint ailments people have would dramatically decrease.
I’m going to go over a lot of the common flaws of Westernized posture. I’ll go up the chain, toes to neck, illustrating how this one movement can benefit nearly every aspect of the chain.
Let’s see if I can make my case.
Toes / Feet
Typical issues needing resolution
While I really don’t see a whole lot of toe or foot issues, here are some of the common issues as I see them:
–
Excessive toe extension
Look at the curvature of a typical shoe:
Notice the front of the shoe angles upwards? Putting the toes in constant extension. Because of this the toes typically will present some weakness in flexion. They are just rarely ever grasping the floor, or any surface for that matter.
(This is why many people, when doing some barefoot training, will notice their shoe size gets smaller. The foot muscles wake up, contracting enough to shorten the person’s arch.)
–
Hallux Valgus
aka the big toe angles inwards.
Left bad, right good.
Ideally, the big toe is pointing straight; not angled inward like a damn hockey stick.
–
How the toddler squat helps
The toes need to flex and grasp the ground in order to help insure the body does not fall backwards. This is kind of hard to see, it makes more sense if you actually do the movement.
As far as hallux valgus, the toddler squat can help. It’s not a given though. Basically you can set the toes up a bit splayed, then work them (like the flexion mentioned above) in this splayed manner.
Toes are a splayed and opened more compared to below
This really depends on the severity of the valgus. For certain people, like those who adore their high heels, they may have already reached the point of no return.
Ankle
Typical issues needing resolution
Due to the high heeled nature of people’s footwear, people could typically go for a lot more dorsiflexion. I’ve written about this in 3 common tight muscles along with mobilizing the talus.
During a squat movement, this lack of dorsiflexion is signaled by the heels lifting off the ground, or the feet turning outward.
The feet angled out
-> Note, just because the feet turn out does not mean it is guaranteed from lack of dorsiflexion. There are other potential reasons, outside the scope of this post.
Because the person can’t generate this motion in an up and down fashion (dorsi- and plantarflexion) they compensate in a side to side (inversion / eversion) manner.
–
How the toddler squat helps
The toddler squat puts the ankles in maximum dorsiflexion.
In fact, people often won’t be able to get all the way down while keeping their feet straight or without the heels rising. The lower they go, the more their feet will / want to turn outwards.
Also, you’ll notice if you give people a heel lift, or let them wear their shoes during the squat, they are much more able to hold themselves in the position. (The heel lift aids their lack of up and down motion.) In the absence of the heel lift they often feel like they’ll fall backwards.
Lastly, people tend to get a nice burn in the front of the shin while holding the bottom position. This is from the muscles which generate dorsiflexion (primarily tibialis anterior) firing and trying to maintain the dorisflexed state.
Because these muscles are underutilized, they don’t like having to work, hence the burning.
Knee
Typical issues needing resolution
Hyperextended knees
This is more prevalent in females due to the high heeled shoes they wear. (If you haven’t caught on- I, and your body, hate you for wearing high heels.)
Look at the hyperextension of the left knee.
The knees are just too locked, too often.
–
Internally rotated femurs
I wrote about this a lot in
- My trip to the Washington University in St. Louis
- An unexpected source of knee pain
- and The best damn IT Band stretch ever
–
How the toddler squat helps
Because the toddler squat puts the knees in maximum flexion, it reverses hyperextension.
Also, when in the bottom position the femurs are laterally rotated, again, reversing the common position of the knees.
Internally rotated knees versus…
Laterally rotated knees.
Hip
Typical issues needing resolution
Excessive hip extension / femoral anterior glide
Coinciding with the knees, the hips are often held in extension, which can force the femur to glide forward excessively.
I’ve written extensively about this in
- My trip to the Washington University in St. Louis
- You shouldn’t stretch your hip flexors if you have hip pain
- and Sleep with less pain…Tonight
Because of this positioning the psoas muscle (hip flexor) can become weak too.
–
How the toddler squat helps
By putting the hips into maximum flexion we are reversing the constant hip extension present while standing. This helps to generate a nice posterior glide of the femur, which often gives hip pain relief.
Also, by putting the hip into maximum flexion the psoas is the only hip flexor continuing to work. This helps even out the imbalance amongst the hip flexors. (Where the psoas is often weak, but all the others are often too strong / active.)
Much like the tibialis anterior and front of the shin burning mentioned above, people will often feel a nice deep burn in the hips while holding the squat for a while. A sign the psoas is kicking into high gear and trying to do work it’s not accustomed to.
Lower back
Typical issues needing resolution
Excessive lordosis
I’ve written about this in 3 common tight muscles.
Along with the excessive lower back arch, the external obliques are often too long / weak. I’ve written about them in 3 common weak muscles.
–
How the toddler squat helps
If you haven’t caught the theme yet, one of the main principles of corrective exercise is to do the opposite of what we typically do. So, the lower back is often arched one direction? Reverse the arch.
The external obliques are always being stretched out? Tighten them up. Which maximally flexing the hips does, as the pelvis will posteriorly tilt in conjunction.
Shoulders / Thoracic Spine
Typical issues needing resolution
Excessive thoracic kyphosis.
I’ve written about this in 3 common tight muscles and 3 common weak muscles.
–
How the toddler squat helps
The benefits here aren’t as pronounced as with the lower body, but they’re there.
One way to make the toddler squat beneficial for the shoulders is to use a bar, or some kind of support, to elevate the arms.
This will help generate some nice shoulder flexion, humeral posterior glide, thoracic extension, etc. All things just about everyone could use more of.
The above also provides a nice progression for those who have trouble getting all the way down, or holding themselves at the bottom without falling backwards.
Next, once the person can hold themselves at the bottom, the movement can be made more effective by really trying to stick the chest out i.e. sitting upright. Note the differences:
Much harder too.
This provides some great work for the thoracic extensors, which are often under utilized, hence the hunch back posture so many people have.
Neck / Cervical spine
Typical issues needing resolution
Cervical hyperextension
Due to leaning forward quite a bit, people’s neck posture is too hyperextended.
–
How the toddler squat helps
While resolving issues at the thoracic spine, as the toddler squat can do, can help the cervical spine, overall this movement isn’t so much helping the neck issues as it is just putting the neck in a friendly position.
In other words, tuck your chin while doing the movement and we are at least adding some time where the neck is in a corrective position. Not a whole lot muscularly is going to happen, but if we’re doing anything, we are helping our cause.
Bringing it all together
Alright, let’s examine a person with the typical American posture.
Going up the chain:
-We can’t really see anything with the toes.
-The ankles actually aren’t too bad. Maybe a tad bit of plantarflexion.
-The knees in hyperextension.
-The hips in extension. (The feet are behind the knees, which are behind the hips.)
-The pelvis is anteriorly tilted. However, even though the pelvis is in a position of apparent hip flexion, the legs are actually being held in hip extension. You can’t just assume anterior pelvic tilt -> stretch the crap out of hip flexors.
-The lower back is arched (lordosis).
-The upper back is hunched (kyphosis).
-The neck is in hypererextension.
Outlining the posture per the above:
Now, let’s go over the toddler squat position once more:
-The ankle is dorsiflexed.
-The knees are flexed
-The hips are held in flexion.
-The lower back is slightly rounded.
-The upper back is a bit extended.
-The neck is straightened out.
Outlining this we have:
You can see we’ve effectively either reversed all the common postural faults, or straightened them out. This is what we call “training economically.” I’m not sure you could ask for much more out of a single -posturally corrective- exercise.
–
–
A note on difficulty
For those who are really tight, I start off with the Backward Rocking / Child’s Pose stretch. The positioning is nearly identical, with the big exception of dorsiflexion, but in a non-loaded manner.
Once they have adequate range of motion in that position, the toddler squat can follow.
Of course, it’s rarely that easy
Please understand not all the above applies to everybody. Not everyone can just do one exercise and straighten themselves out.
For instance, plenty of people bend their knees so much throughout the day sitting like this:
That actually, the last thing their knees need is more bending. For these people, the bottom position of a toddler squat -i.e. maximal knee flexion- is not recommended.
The fun of the post is along the lines of “if you only could give one corrective exercise, what would it be?” In the real world, fortunately, we don’t have to operate that way.
jonbreaux
November 28, 2012
Brian,
This is a really interesting post, especially the outline of common postural problems. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on the following:
– When I was in PT for shoulder impingement issues, my therapist talked about posture as joint alignment that was not something you should try for, contra the advice to “stand up straight”. His point (as I understood it, anyway) was that folks developed incorrect sitting/standing/working movement habits that led to poor posture over time, and thus needed to re-learn how to do these things, not simply force themselves into some arbitrary position. Thus, poor standing alignment reveals muscle weakness/imbalances, rather than is the cause of them. Am I understanding this concept correctly?
– My second question then became why, when looking around at people everywhere and myself included, do we all have the same “bad” alignment? I’ve noticed even small children carry themselves this way – surely they have not had much time to learn “bad” movement patterns? His answer involved mumbling about a society in which we do everything “out in front of our body with our hands”, but I wonder if that hasn’t always been the case for people? Are there any studies that talk about contemporary posture problems as a result of contemporary activities?
– As a side note, when I was an anthropology student in college, it was my casual observation that people living in small-scale, rural communities lacking most or sometimes all contemporary technologies, had similar kyphosis/lordosis postures. Which makes me wonder – does anyone (or group) closely match what is considered ideal posture? And if so, what are they doing differently from the rest of us.
Thanks in advance for the consideration!
reddyb
November 28, 2012
Hey Jon,
These are some interesting points. Let me try and elucidate the best I can.
-RE: Your therapist.
I’m not quite sure I’m following here. If what your therapist was trying to say is movement dictates posture and muscle imbalances, thus one should focus much more on how they move, then I’d agree.
However, they can’t really be disparate things. By improving how you move you’re improving your posture. So, for instance, you’re someone with shoulder issues so you try and walk (move) with less thoracic kyphosis, you are indirectly improving your posture through how you move.
NOW, just focusing on standing up straight more often won’t get things done. I think this is where a lot of people misunderstand the whole posture thing. You can’t just sit up straight in your chair and expect all your issues to go away. Not usually at least.
Back to a shoulder example. Say you have impingement because of the aforementioned thoracic kyphosis. However, say in conjunction to this you have a lack of upward rotation (the movement impairment). You can eliminate the thoracic kyphosis all you want, and likely get some symptom reduction, however, you still need to retrain the upward rotation ability.
But, retrain upward rotation properly and you will be correcting kyphosis concurrently.
So, yes, poor posture / movement, OR (!) excessive movement of one type (an example could be a construction worker or secretary) leads to muscular imbalances. Movement dictates muscles, not vice versa.
Tangential to the above: This is why people who rely solely on foam rolling / massage techniques never get anywhere. They get some symptom reduction transiently, but invariably issues come back. In other words, they’re attacking the muscles but not the movement. Hopefully this is making sense.
-RE: Everyone’s posture / alignment
I’d have to disagree here. While the majority of people certainly fall into the categories I outlined above, this is by no means everyone.
The degree to which each issue presents varies considerably too.
For example, Dan (pictured above) is a young guy. While he is very, very stiff, he hasn’t had as many years of poor movement as someone in their 50s. The 50 year old might present with all of Dan’s issues, but to a much greater degree.
The way this translates for someone like me helping people out with these issues is this: Someone like Dan (young guy) I might have to really look closely at how he moves. I’ll probably take more time with him, perform more tests, and just be more thorough. The 50 year old? I know practically everything I need to just from the time it takes me to walk up and shake their hand.
-RE Studies
I haven’t looked in depth for studies aimed at contemporary activities causing contemporary posture issues. My experience with this is much more anecdotal. Part of this is because I don’t need a study to tell me a woman who always carries a heavy purse on her left arm is likely to have a depressed left arm.
I can tell you there are quite a few people out there who are HIGHLY skeptical of posture having anything to do with pain. I’ll look more in depth at this one day and write about it.
Short version for now: 1) Quantifying things like posture and pain is very, very hard to do. 2) Again, movement is what should be looked at, with posture a concomitant. Posture should not be the most important variable. 3) Just because a person has crappy posture doesn’t necessitate they be in pain.
Based off my cursory glance at these critiques these skeptics completely ignore HOW LONG you are in a certain posture / have movement issues is a huge determinant of whether you’re in pain. Quick example, I just slouched my shoulders typing this, but I’m not in pain. You can’t then put me in a study and say “Slouched shoulders doesn’t dictate joint pain.” How long have I been in that posture? How many times have I moved my shoulders with that posture? Do I move well despite that posture?
(Yes, this is a cluster fuck of an area to try and study.)
Lastly, and really most importantly, so few people / researchers / therapists / whatever really understand movement issues and how to correct them. I only pretend to know a thing or two, and other than the Washington University in St. Louis, and maybe one other person, there are literally no other people I’d refer anyone to. Thus, these studies and points of view are beginning from a point of ignorance in my mind anyways. (It’s a lot easier to just say “This doesn’t work” than to admit “This doesn’t work because I don’t know what I’m doing.”)
I guess my point here is if you decide to look at these studies, keep this in mind.
-RE Ideal posture and other cultures
I haven’t examined other cultures so this is tough for me to comment on thoroughly. I will say even in a not too advanced society, excessive sitting can still be quite present. We really aren’t that much more inactive in just the last 30-40 years, it’s really more like the last 100-150 years. What I’m saying is even in a society of the technology of 100 years ago, I wouldn’t expect too many differences in muscle imbalances.
Sorry this got so long! Some of these thoughts are things for future articles so I had a lot on my mind.
jonbreaux
December 4, 2012
Brian,
Thanks for the reply. I do feel that I have a firmer grasp now on posture and it’s relationship to movement and movement impairment. Your point here:
“I think this is where a lot of people misunderstand the whole posture thing. You can’t just sit up straight in your chair and expect all your issues to go away.”
was exactly the conceptual hurdle I was trying to jump! Your explanation gave me a lot of clarity on why this is a misconception.
My PT has also reinforced your point about “presentation of symptoms” and how bad posture does not always equal impairment or pain. In fact, he pointed out that he (the therapist) could also use some work on his somewhat kyphotic posture, but he had not reached the point of impairment yet, due to a whole variety of factors, some difficult to really pin down. It’s tough work explaining this stuff, it seems to me, because there are so many layers to each individual case and the road back to normal movement may not be so straight forward. To your point about the “state of the field” – I’ve often felt like my own PT has been a lot of trial and error. Nothing too wrong with that, but my common-sense perception (with no background in the field) was that a muscular issue would be pretty easy to fix. That certainly has not been my experience!
Looking forward to the future articles on some of these subjects. I find your writing here both insightful and supportive.
reddyb
December 4, 2012
Glad I could help!
Of course I don’t know your PT or their approach, but unfortunately, I can tell you the “Trial and Error” is what I see from most PTs as well. In fact, I’ve had other clients state your exact sentence to me too.
I should point out where the trial and error is occurring is significant. For instance, after evaluating someone and arriving at a diagnosis, there is going to be trial and error. Some people might just not be able to grasp a particular exercise, so after 3 sessions you may can it. Or, some people are going to progress way faster (say, due to being more diligent), so you may have to give them harder progressions. Certain people respond to certain cues better than others. So, first session; one cue doesn’t work? Second session you may try out another. You get the idea.
The issue I see with the PT world is not the above, instead, they are troubleshooting the diagnosis phase. You – can – not – do – this.
Also, perhaps a tangent, but a postural defect, such as “kyphosis,” is NOT a diagnosis (at least in my mind). The movement impairment is the diagnosis. Correct the movement, and you correct the kyphosis. Vice versa doesn’t work. In my opinion this is why so many people come away from physical therapy going “PT doesn’t work.”
An analogy: A physician diagnoses someone with diabetes. Thus, medication is prescribed. After this point, the trial and error begins. Perhaps drug x gives weird side effects, so drug y is used instead. Perhaps the person loses a bunch of weight, so the dosage is adjusted. You get the idea.
What hopefully isn’t, or shouldn’t, be trial and error, is the “diabetes” part.
Point being, suggesting Monster energy drinks to a chronically fatigued diabetic as a treatment = you’re fucked.
Julie
January 3, 2015
It makes a lot of sense to me from personal experience to do child’s pose if the toddler squat is too hard. I always find that in yoga classes and the like, some instructors want to push down on my low back because it isn’t resting on top of my feet. Any tips for encouraging that to drop down? I don’t always have an extra pair of hands to give me a deeper stretch!
reddyb
January 4, 2015
Good question!
I actually don’t like the extra push down from someone else. I have clients who will ask for this, but I usually don’t comply.
1) Not everyone can, and therefore should, get their heels to their butt. Not everyone has this level of hip flexibility. This isn’t a muscular thing, it’s a structural / bone thing. And you don’t want to force that. Do so and you’re asking to compress the femur against the acetabulum. (This is a form of FAI -femoroacetabular impingement.)
-> Side note: This is an issue with yoga. Trying to get everyone to stretch everything, and thinking those who can’t do splits and such “just aren’t as flexible.” This often isn’t a flexibility issue -something many consider malleable; it’s a “this is how your bones are built” issue.
2) I’d rather someone try to get the extra motion by themselves pushing -using their hands- back. This way the person gets some work with their arms, pushing them into upward rotation / shoulder flexion. That is, the person usually gets some beneficial shoulder work and or a nice shoulder stretch. Again though, the goal isn’t necessarily butt on heels!
Tamson
January 7, 2015
I just stumbled across this blog–it’s great! I know a lot of people say that squatting is innate and it seems to be a very common behavior among toddlers, it’s true. However, my son has never really squatted. I was the same way. I suspect that this is because neither of us crawled, but who knows. Anyway, I am a reformed squatter. I can squat “ass to grass” (at least unloaded), but it’s still not a position I love. I do it regularly. My son is an eleven year old boy. He’s not terribly athletic. I don’t want to turn him into a gym rat, but I do want to make sure he can move well throughout his life and stay healthy. He was a toe walker and he can’t run very well. All this is to say, I would love some insights on some basic things I can do with him to help him move better without creating an undue amount of strife. He’s a busy kid, has demanding school requirements. I’m looking more for some habits that we can incorporate, rather than a whole fitness routine. The child’s pose is a good one, I think. We actually do some yoga fairly regularly. Any other simple movements for a boy with tight hamstrings, achilles and a lack of strength?
reddyb
January 9, 2015
Thanks for the nice words Tamson.
Neither you or your son ever crawled? That’s the first I’ve heard of something like that.
-I pretty much never have someone squat ass to grass loaded. Very, very few people have the mobility / born structure to be able to do this. I’ll have people work on it as a stretch and such, but basically never as a resistance exercise. Important distinction.
-Here is a good hamstring stretch:
-A simple exercise for the achilles / calf / ankle complex:
This is a program with seven simple, can do anywhere, exercises, that you might be interested in:
http://b-reddy.org/2014/11/18/7-exercises-to-improve-common-posture-and-movement-issues-info/
I’d take a good look at some more dynamic activities as well. My girlfriend actually has twin nephews who are both toe walkers. They’ve been in gymnastics for I believe 18 months now, they’re only 4 years old, and I’ve always thought what a great idea for getting kids better with their bodies. (Kinesthetic awareness and such.)
As a warning: These twins now think they can climb everything, and are not afraid of falling. Because in gymnastics, when you fall you always bounce upwards!
The idea is to make it play oriented though, where the kid is moving is body in a bounce of different ways.
Let me know how things work.
eddie
April 16, 2015
I desperately want to do this more often, and have since I was a kid. But when I get past 90 degress, it feels like the lateral side of my knee gets impinged somehow, and the pain is unbearable. I wouldn’t guess it’s an ankle issue, as I can’t do the child’s pose stretch either, and I can pull my knees to my chest.
Ideas?
reddyb
April 17, 2015
Hey Eddie,
In child’s pose, the required ankle flexibility is different than the toddler squat. In child’s pose, you’re asking for a lot of ankle plantarflexion. In the toddler, it’s ankle dorsiflexion. So, you can’t rule out the ankle(s) here.
Next, not everyone has the requisite hip mobility to comfortably squat below 90 degrees. It’s rare I come across people who can’t do this, given enough (gentle) practice, but it’s not that rare.
Other than that, I’d have to take a look at this. Other potential factors are possible too.
Rick
August 23, 2015
Hey Brian,
Thanks for all the info! Really incredible site! If you don’t mind a question:
When I flex my knees up to the max I get a popping sound on both of them (it’s not really painful but mainly on my right one I get a bit of discomfort, specially I feel my knees tighter in the morning when I would get a bigger pop on the knees, although it gets away in 30 minutes or so) should I continue doing this? Also, how many reps or hold should I do this, specially to improve anterior femoral glide? thanks!
reddyb
August 25, 2015
Some sounds, so long as it’s not too painful, are usually nothing to worry about. Typically just things moving around some. You could always just not go as low though, if you really wanted to avoid it / loosen up first.
I typically do a 3 sets give or take, for about 30 seconds with the toddler squat.
RJ Lane
March 11, 2016
Love the content you are sharing! I have a question. I have plenty of flexibility to do a resting or toddler squat. I am having some pain however in the left crease of my hip. Glute activation and hamstring stretches improve it, and I can pretty much do all my normal exercises with the exception of the squat. It feels like when I squat something it out of balance with my hip on the left side. It seems like some type of femoral glide, but not sure what exactly. Will I ever be able to squat again? Should I take a month break and just focus on glute activation? Also been doing some hip stretching with a elastic band. kind of a downward dog with the band pulling back on my hips the opposite direction. That also really seems to relieve the symptoms and even allows me to squat a few times without any twinge of pain. But I’m guessing I should avoid squatting altogether for a while to let things heal up. Would that include a resting or toddler squat?
The reason I feel it might be femoral glide is that glue activation, gentle hamstring stretching (I know you advise against this, but it relieves my symptoms…) and using a resistance band pulling back on my hips while I do a sort of downward dog.
My question is, how long should I stop squatting? Is there something that needs to heal, or do I just need to work on strengthening things that will prevent the “glide”? And lastly, is resting squat helpful for this? It doesn’t feel uncomfortable, but as I am not able to really contract my glutes in that position I was worried it would maybe keep things too lose and allow the femur to move more. I am pretty flexible and can descend into a full squat with my rear almost touching the ground. Almost wondering if my flexibility was my downfall, in that muscles that should have been protecting my femur were sacrificed in my ability to squat lower than I should…
Any thoughts appreciated, and either way, thanks for the articles!
reddyb
March 15, 2016
Hey RJ,
Thanks for the nice words.
You might be interested in these articles:
http://b-reddy.org/2013/05/09/talking-about-hip-retroversion/
http://b-reddy.org/2015/07/29/on-structural-adaptation-limitations-of-the-hip/
http://b-reddy.org/2015/08/03/hip-mobility-issues-in-basketball-players-why-the-lack-of-internal-rotation/
And then the other thing to continue is whether your left hip *structurally* has the same ability to flex as your other hip. First step is assess how your hip likes to bend (I don’t have an article on this yet), then assess how much it has to bend.
-If placing something around the hip, pulling bit back, gives you some relief, that can a nice indicator of femoral anterior glide i.e. you have more to bend, but something *functionally* isn’t going properly.
-I’m not sure what you’re referencing in regards to being against gentle hamstring stretching? Feel free to let me know. I have an entire article on stretching the hamstrings: http://b-reddy.org/2013/07/29/better-exercises-to-stretch-the-hamstrings/
-This isn’t usually something that needs to heal up. Rather something where how you move needs to change i.e. change how you squat / how deep you squat.
-If anything, when in a deep squat, you want to relax your glutes. The hips are going into very deep flexion. The glutes are hip extensors. By contracting the glutes you attempting to shorten muscles which do the opposite of what you’re really trying to do i.e. relax in a deep squat. Glute activation needs to be done in very specific ways. Don’t worry about doing it during everything you do.
Ryan J. Lane Music
March 15, 2016
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I had thought in one of your articles you mentioned not doing hamstring stretches with femoral glide, but I might be mixing things up. Interestingly, I feel that the side hip issue has nearly resolved itself, and now I am feeling tight in my front left hip flexor area. Not sure if the banded hip stretches resolved the first symptom, revealing the issue of origin, the hip flexor. I am able to stretch my hip flexor without any problems, and it also seems to be making progress. I also have been foam rolling that area which feels awesome.
Checking out your referenced articles now.
Thanks again!!
The Birthmark Blog
August 26, 2016
Just tried a toddler squat…I guess I was already taught this by my physical therapist by the name of a goblet or prying goblet squat. Where should I be placing my weight in this pose? Most of my weight naturally seems to rest on my heels. I can put 0-25% on the balls of my feet before I start coming to far forward (which makes it hard to keep a proud chest). Also, I feel hip impingement…is this normal? Likewise, there’s a lot of tension on the fronts of my lower legs, and when I stand back up I notice they feel like they lost circulation in the pose. Is that normal?
reddyb
August 28, 2016
-Place your weight in whatever way allows you to accomplish the form. (Feet should be flat; chest out some.)
-Hip impingement should not occur. In that case, you’d want to open your feet some, and or your knees. Where trying to keep them completely straight might not work for you. Discussed more thoroughly here: https://b-reddy.org/2013/05/09/talking-about-hip-retroversion/
-Tension in the front of lower legs, around the shins, is common. Wouldn’t do it to where you feel like you’re losing circulation, but it’s common to get a good burn in that area.
Kevin Gibbs
October 28, 2016
Hi Brad (if I remember your name correctly)
I was thinking about a few things here… I actually have loss of kyhposis in my thoracic spine. I wonder can you give any tips on that?
Other than that, I tend to feel a pain in my right knee medially if I don’t rotate my toes in. Even then I feel a tad, but not so badly. Is this because of the internal rotation in my hips? Thanks! Oh, and if I take a wider stance, should the knees still be pointing forward?
reddyb
October 30, 2016
-Thoracic Kyphosis- There is a search function on the site I’d use.
-If your feet are turned out while the knees are pointing straight, then you’d be twisting your knee, which can feel crappy.
-Knees should be pointed in the same direction as the toes. Particularly in a wider stance, keeping everything straight can be harder and not comfortable (nor desirable).
Brian
Karen
May 8, 2017
Planter faciatis excercises? Can you name a few please. And walking shoe recommendations.
reddyb
May 9, 2017
Hey Karen,
Specific plantar fasciitis exercises is outside the scope of this post, and tough to do in the comments.
This is a thorough guide on footwear though: https://b-reddy.org/2014/10/30/a-guide-to-footwear-table-of-contents/
Dylan
May 12, 2019
Hey Brian,
Do you have any thoughts about whether it would be a good idea to try to work up to spending longer periods of time in this position?
For example, using the toddler squat to do things you’d normally do sitting like watching tv, working etc. I find that if I spend enough time in this position I’ll eventually loose some circulation in the legs (and get weird looks from family and colleagues). A solution for the circulation bit might be to not go so deep but that would be more tiring. So my second question is, do you think there are similar benefits to sitting on something very low to immitate this position like a cushion or stool?
b-reddy
May 14, 2019
Hey Dylan,
That’s a good question. I actually haven’t played with that recommendation to anyone. I’ve had clients tell me they tried it themselves. It seems a little too intense.
Now, if you’re someone who grows up doing it, that’s a different story. But we’re talking getting adults to get back into this motion after not doing it for decades. To try and get to where one can do it for hours throughout the day, that would likely take a lot of time to work up to e.g. 3-6 months, and even then a lot of people simply aren’t going to have the body structure to do it comfortably.
And because it’s so much work initially, it’ll be hard to concentrate on another task. Overall the practicality of it is tough.
You lose a decent chunk of the benefit when you make it passive by being on a cushion or stool. Also, if someone is trying to use a laptop on the floor -which I’ve seen some people toy with- then the upper back is very likely going to be rounded down to help look at the screen.
Lastly, when you’re doing one approach you’re giving up another. If it’s be in the toddler squat for long periods of time throughout the day or get someone standing, I’d go with standing.
With that, getting people completely away from sitting in a regular chair isn’t something I think is prudent. There are certain kinds of work where you want to be in the most comfortable position, so your brain can exert as much energy as it can to that task. For instance, if you’re walking and someone asks you what’s 2+2, you can answer while walking. If someone asks you what’s 123 * 456, you’ll likely stop walking to think about that.