A 2014 study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that test subjects who showed difficulty getting up off the floor without support of hands resulted in a three-year-shorter life expectancy than subjects who got up with ease!  It turns out that the “use it or lose it” theory is true!

In the Western world, entire populations have abandoned the squat—to the extent that it is now viewed as undignified! Resting has become synonymous with sitting in much of the developed world and is mainly associated with the attainment of affluence of the middle and upper class. From desk chairs to dining chairs to commuting and TV watching with only brief respites for walking from one chair to another!  Other than short intervals for exercises we spend most of the time sitting.  So much so that it is detrimental to not only the knees but now is affecting our overall health.

Much of the world still squats daily, whether to rest, to pray, to cook, to share a meal, to give birth, or to use the toilet (squat-style toilets are still the norm in Asia and much of underdeveloped Africa.)

The medical fraternity is now noting that our failure to squat has metabolic, biomechanical, and physiological implications on our health.

Most moving joints in the body are synovial joints—a capsule surrounds each joint containing synovial fluid which is the “oil” in the joint providing nutrition to the cartilage that covers the ends of the bones (hyaline cartilage) and the meniscus (fibrocartilaginous). Movement and compression stimulate the production of synovial fluid nourishing the joint surfaces allowing smooth pain free mobility.   Failure to use the whole joint—not bending the knees past 90 degrees—results in degeneration of the joint surfaces that are not being used as no synovial fluid reaches these surfaces and the whole joint stiffens resulting in the dreaded “osteoarthritis (OA)” and  the “bone on bone” diagnosis.  Note that the Greek work “arthro” (άρθρο) means “joint,” hence arthritis means  “inflammation of the joint”—inflammation is not a disease…it’s a response!  On the other hand, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis and Gouty Arthritis are autoimmune diseases where the body is actively attacking itself.  These diseases have a relatively low prevalence, but Osteoarthritis is widespread and is not an autoimmune disease hence does not fall under this category.  OA is degeneration of the joint surfaces (cartilage) due to lack of use which deprives the joint of healthy nutrition.

Hence, the ability to perform a full squat is an indicator of overall health, i.e., the ability to move body weight in an efficient manner.  It recruits most of the muscles in the lower extremity effectively placing a healthy stress on the muscle, tendons, ligaments and joints that results in strengthening of the structures via Wolf’s Law.  Wolf’s Law says that bone and other soft tissue structures in a healthy individual will adapt to the loads under which it is placed and will result in a remodeling process over time to become stronger.  The extra work (defined as the product of force and displacement) will increase stress to the system and stronger joint, bones and muscles are the result.  This extra work increased metabolism, and makes the system more efficient including the digestive tract.

So, start squatting, it’ll change your life along with your joints!