The above graph is from this paper that looks at spines in primitive versus civilized populations. You can clearly see that there is little disc degeneration in the primitive population. The authors hypthesize that this is due to the frequent squatting by primitive groups.
The authors state that "the posture of humans can be divided into squatters and non-squatters". Interestingly, they also found that more load-bearing via heavy physical work in modern populations did not slow the rate of disc degeneration.
The full-text of the paper can be downloaded. It's worth a read.
The above graph is from this paper that looks at spines in primitive versus civilized populations. You can clearly see that there is little disc degeneration in the primitive population. The authors hypthesize that this is due to the frequent squatting by primitive groups.
The authors state that "the posture of humans can be divided into squatters and non-squatters". Interestingly, they also found that more load-bearing via heavy physical work in modern populations did not slow the rate of disc degeneration.
The full-text of the paper can be downloaded. It's worth a read.