Does the Squatty Potty Work? Tips and Squatty Potty Alternatives

Constipation is a miserable condition that can worsen co-morbidities like low back pain, muscle tone problems in people with neurological conditions, and confusion in people with dementia. The Squatty Potty was created to help ease this issue but many wonder does it work and are there any Squatty Potty alternatives?

According to the Cleveland Clinic, more than 2 ½ million patients visit their doctor each year due to constipation, and much more likely suffer from constipation but do not seek medical attention. Constipation is defined as having fewer than three bowel movements per week. See 5 Tips on How To Unconstipate Yourself

According to the Squatty Potty elevating your feet puts you in a much more natural position to relieve yourself. You can help reduce the stress on the tissues and reduce straining by squatting to pass a bowel movement. This position encourages the pelvic floor to relax.

Sitting with hips at 90 degrees means the puborectalis muscle is not relaxed, which means the kink in the upper rectum does not straighten out. With the squatty potty raising the feet, so that the hips are flexed beyond 90 degrees straightens out where the colon and rectum join and allows poo to pass more easily.

Squatty Potty vs Sitting

So, does the squatty potty work? squatting toilet is common in Asian and Middle Eastern countries. The toilet bowl is actually embedded in the ground and there are typically indications of where to put your feet on either side of the bowl. The instructions for use are as follows: 

  1. Squat
  2. Poop

The health benefits of using a squatting toilet versus a sitting toilet are controversial. Although there is no argument between doctors that hemorrhoids can be caused by straining during a bowel movement or sitting for too long on a seated toilet, there is some argument over whether there is enough data to definitively say that the squatty potty is better than sitting for hemorrhoid prevention.

What there is definitive data on is that squatting to poop puts less pressure on your rectoanal canal and therefore makes it easier and therefore less strain on your bowel movements.

Squatty Potty Reviews

If you are unsure if the Squatty Potty works it is always helpful to take a look at a few Healthy Huemans reviews. We find reviews helpful when identifying the products that best fit our needs. But not all reviews are created equal. While one review may be full of great insights, another may fall short to be sure we converted all the bases we have curated 3 reviews for the Squatty Potty that we could helpful.

Squatty Potty Alternatives