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Are you having trouble with the toilet?  An expert from UZ Leuven offers golden advice for smooth bowel movements

Are you having trouble with the toilet? An expert from UZ Leuven offers golden advice for smooth bowel movements

“One of the most important things to remember is that what you eat or drink is the most important thing for a good bowel movement,” Inge Geraerts, a pelvic floor physiotherapist at UZ Leuven and professor at KU Leuven, said on Radio 2.

“For adults, we want them to drink one and a half liters of fluid, preferably water. In order to keep their bowel movements perfectly consistent.”

Best placed on the toilet

“What can really help facilitate bowel movements is good posture on the toilet. There we see a lot of things that don’t go well, even in children. Children sitting with their feet dangling over the toilet… actually the feet need to be supported as well.

“It’s actually better if the knees are higher than the pelvis. Then the rectum is at a good angle, and the pelvic floor muscles relax more easily, which makes passing the stool much easier.”

“And also make a slightly rounded back, and push a little, but not constantly. We can’t expect that you’re pushing and it’s all coming out at once. Sometimes the bits of stool just need to be able to sink and you need to eat some of it. The time to do that isn’t You need to press for two minutes in a row.

Incorrect position on the toilet

“Sitting with your arms on your knees is absolutely the wrong position,” Gerarts added.