We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how making certain noises can make going number two a little easier.
We’ve even shared the ideal amount of times you should go per day.
But while you’ve likely heard the advice to squat on the loo when pooping ― which is still good advice ― Dr. Karan Rajan shared on TikTok that another position could help you when you’re seriously backed up.
Though it “isn’t gonna solve chronic constipation issues or replace a fibre-rich diet,” he says the trick might just help you to “poop faster.”
What is it?
The doctor Stitched a video of a woman sitting down; one of her feet was flat on the floor, and the other was led across the knee of the leg opposite it.
“This could be your get-out-of-poop-jail-free card,” he joked, explaining that “when you sit with one leg crossed over the other, it mimics the squatting position.”
He added that this “changes the angle of the rectum by relaxing the puborectalis muscle” ― the one responsible for holding your, err, waste in by creating a curve.
When that kink is released, Dr. Rajan explained, it “allows for more direct passage of stool and optimised poop physics.”
It also “increases the intra-abdominal pressure,” meaning you’ll have to strain less than you would otherwise.
Wait ― what’s wrong with straining?
The doctor explained that if you’re regularly, um, pushing yourself to the limit, you can end up with “dyssynergic defecation” or anismus.
“It occurs when the muscles and nerves in the pelvic floor fail to coordinate correctly to have a bowel movement (pelvic floor dysfunction),” Cleveland Clinic explains, and is often the result of chronic constipation.
To avoid this, Dr. Rajan suggests either taking the stance mentioned above or squatting when you go number two.
I’ll take those orders...