New patient offer: use code NEW10 for 10% off your first booking.Book with NEW10
P
PhysioOnClick
Sign InBook Now
Bowel Emptying Positioning exercise demonstration
Exercise library

Bowel Emptying Positioning

Using a footstool and forward-lean position on the toilet to align the pelvic floor for easier, less straining bowel emptying.

Area
Pelvic health
Stage
Early rehab
Equipment
A footstool about 15 to 20 cm high

Typical dose: As advised by your physio. This is a general starting point, not a plan matched to your condition or stage.

Check if this is right for me

Embed this exercise on your website

Free for clinics, gyms, clubs and blogs. Paste this code into your page's HTML.

Free to embed unchanged, with the credit link kept. Embedding terms

How to do it

You need: A footstool about 15 to 20 cm high.

Sit on the toilet with a footstool under your feet so your knees are higher than your hips. Rest your forearms on your thighs.

  1. Place your feet on the stool so your knees sit higher than your hips and your body makes a squat-like shape.
  2. Lean forward from your hips and rest your elbows or forearms on your thighs, keeping your back straight.
  3. Let your tummy relax and bulge forward - do not hold it in.
  4. Breathe out gently against a closed mouth, as if steadily blowing up a stiff balloon, and let your back passage open rather than pushing down hard.
  5. Wait calmly between attempts; do not rush or force it.

Form cues

  • Your knees are clearly higher than your hips and you are leaning forward, not sitting upright.
  • Your tummy is relaxed and rounded, not pulled in.
  • You feel widening and opening at the back passage, not a hard downward push.

Common mistakes

  • Holding your breath and straining hard - this tightens the pelvic floor and works against you.
  • Sitting upright or leaning back.
  • Staying on the toilet longer than about 5 minutes hoping something happens.

Safety: Stop and message your physio if you notice new pelvic pain, a dragging or heavy feeling, bleeding from the back passage, or a lasting change in your bowel habit.

Related exercises

Other exercises from the library that pair well with this one.

Pelvic Floor Activation (Basic)A gentle 'lift and squeeze' pelvic floor contraction, the foundation exercise for pelvic floor rehabilitation.Pelvic healthEarly rehabView details Pelvic Floor Endurance HoldHolding a pelvic floor contraction for progressively longer counts, building the endurance needed for daily continence.Pelvic healthStrength phaseView details Fast-Twitch Pelvic Floor 'The Knack'A quick pre-emptive pelvic floor squeeze timed just before a cough or sneeze, a technique proven to reduce leakage.Pelvic healthStrength phaseView details Deep Core and Pelvic Floor Co-ActivationGently drawing in the lower abdomen together with the pelvic floor, rebuilding coordinated deep core support.Pelvic healthStrength phaseView details

More pregnancy & pelvic health exercises

See all pregnancy & pelvic health exercises

Written and clinically reviewed by Shivaliba Zala, HCPC-registered physiotherapist (PH155757)

Reviewed 8 September 2026

This exercise is generic - you're not

Get a plan personalized to you

Book a £40 online assessment with an HCPC-registered physiotherapist and get a rehab plan matched to your condition and stage - not a generic starting point.

Get my personalized plan