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Prostate Disorders

Mr. Wallace Bowles is an Australian researcher who learned about the benefits of squatting in 1984, at the age of 52. A former Royal Australian Air Force fighter pilot and later a senior commercial pilot, Mr. Bowles in 1984 was working for the Australian Aviation Authority as an investigator of aircraft accidents.

Although he had no formal medical training, his intense curiosity led him to immerse himself in the study of human anatomy, in order to understand why squatting for bodily functions was so much more effective. He also suspected that the habitual use of sitting toilets might be responsible for some common ailments found only in westernized countries.

As a man in his fifties, Mr. Bowles was naturally curious about a possible connection to prostate problems. He was intrigued by evidence such as the following:

from USA Today, January 5, 2000:

African Americans have the highest prostate cancer risk in the world .... And despite high rates among African Americans, prostate cancer is very low in Africa.

from Cancer.gov:

....incidence rates for clinical prostate cancer in western men are 30 to 50 times higher than those for Asian men.

from emedicine.com:

A 200-fold difference in incidence exists between African American men, who represent the group with the highest incidence of the disease, and Chinese men living in Asia, in whom the incidence of prostate cancer is among the lowest in the world.

Migration studies reveal that movement of people from areas of low risk to areas of high risk is associated with an increase in the incidence of prostate cancer among the migrants. In one study, within one generation, the increase in incidence in Japanese immigrants was 4- to 9-fold compared to the incidence of prostate cancer in Japan.

In his review of the medical literature, Mr. Bowles encountered the usual explanation for the low incidence of prostate cancer in the developing world: a diet low in fat and high in fiber. He was skeptical of this theory, and a recent major study has confirmed his doubts:

(American Society of Clinical Oncology - August 30, 2002) – A low-fat, high-fiber diet heavy in fruits and vegetables has no impact on PSA levels in men over a four-year period, and does not affect the incidence of prostate cancer, according to a study by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the National Cancer Institute, and seven other centers.
[http://www.prostatecancer.on.ca/WNew/nov2002_03.html]

Mr. Bowles took an entirely different approach to the problem. He suspected that the prostate's strange behavior was caused by a breakdown in the body's system of communication and control. The prostate and bladder are controlled by the pudendal nerve, which emerges from the sacrum, near the base of the spine, and runs along the perineum. Damage to this nerve can weaken the brain signals to and from the prostate and render the gland dysfunctional.

In women, the pudendal nerve is commonly injured during childbirth, leading to temporary or permanent bladder incontinence. Pelvic nerve injury often results from instrumental deliveries (forceps, vacuum extractors, etc.) and from straining to overcome the unnatural western delivery posture. (More details in the Pregnancy and Childbirth section.)

But childbirth is not the only way the pudendal nerve is damaged. It happens to women who have never had children, as well as to men. Mr. Bowles theorized that the same stretching of the pelvic floor caused by giving birth in the recumbent position could also result from voiding in the sitting position. Bowel evacuation is not as stressful as childbirth, but is repeated on a daily basis.

The pelvic floor is a hammock of muscles which supports the bladder, the intestines and (in women) the uterus. The pudendal nerve travels from the spinal cord through the pelvic floor to the bladder and prostate. On a conventional toilet, the pelvic floor is unsupported and is forcefully pushed downwards during evacuation.

The practice of holding one's breath and pushing with the diaphragm is considered "normal" in western societies. But no other animal uses this "Valsalva Maneuver." Like all primates, man was designed to use the squatting position, which empties the colon without putting any pressure on the pelvic floor.

Instead of pushing downwards with the diaphragm, squatting pushes upwards with the thighs. The weight of the torso compresses the colon, so no straining is required. Squatting also relaxes the puborectalis muscle to straighten the rectum. This is the method used by over two-thirds of humanity.

How does seated evacuation damage the pudendal nerve? The nerve passes through the pelvic floor and has to stretch each time the Valsalva Maneuver is used. Nerves are not elastic and cannot be stretched very far without being damaged. A 12% stretch destroys a nerve.

Over the years, the pelvic hammock sags lower and lower, from being pushed downwards several times each day. The pudendal nerve is eventually stretched beyond its capacity. It loses the ability to transmit brain signals and supply electrical energy to the pelvic area.

Every gland in the body requires constant feedback from the brain to maintain normal functioning. Damage to the pudendal nerve disconnects the prostate from the body's governing intelligence. The prostate "loses its mind" – as millions of men discover each year, to their dismay.

Prostate disease affects 75% of the male population over the age of 50. It can take three different forms:

Enlargement. Unaware that it is strangling the urethra, the prostate can grow from its normal size of a walnut, to the size of an orange, or even larger. More than half the men in the United States between the ages of 60 and 70 and as many as 90% between the ages of 70 and 90 have symptoms of BPH [prostate enlargement] according to the National Cancer Institute.
Cancer. The overactive cells will frequently mutate and become malignant. Each day in the United States, more than 100 men die of prostate cancer. Annually, physicians diagnose 184,500 new cases, and treatment costs approach $5 billion (according to emedicine.com.)
Prostatitis. "Symptoms of prostatitis-like pain occur in 11% of American men, and approximately 95% of the men whose conditions are diagnosed as chronic prostatitis have no evidence of bacterial infection or inflammatory cells in the prostatic fluid....Chronic perineal pain may be caused by pudendal nerve entrapment (PNE)."

The term "entrapment" refers to nerve damage of various kinds, including stretching of the pudendal nerve. The above explanation may also apply to cystitis – another pelvic disorder which, in many cases, seems to have no discernible cause.

Damage to the pudendal nerve occurs gradually and cumulatively and can take many years to manifest. This is one reason why the cause has escaped detection. Another reason is cultural insularity. Sitting toilets were considered "normal and natural" and therefore "above suspicion."

To test his theory, Mr. Bowles designed and manufactured a squatting device, and encouraged thousands of his fellow Australians to adopt the natural posture for evacuation. Here is his summary of the results:

An ongoing informal study indicates that, providing prostate enlargement has not progressed too far, symptoms gradually reverse when men abandon seated bowel movements and squat instead. The study indicates that improvement usually occurs within three months and, within about six months of making this posture change, most men (including men in their seventies) regain normal prostate function.

Mr. Bowles concluded that the damaged nerves will grow back over time if the source of injury is removed. Many respondents also reported significant reductions in their PSA levels (prostate specific antigen) after switching to squatting.

Wallace Bowles did not invent the concept of "pelvic floor nerve stretch injury." He simply realized that this self-inflicted injury has been institutionalized by the universal habit of sitting for evacuation. He therefore concluded that the porcelain throne is the most likely culprit in the mysterious epidemic of pelvic disorders (male and female) that plagues the Western World.

This "eureka!" of a retired aircraft accident investigator may someday be recognized as one of the most important breakthroughs in the history of medicine.