Stress position

A Viet Cong prisoner captured in 1967 by the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) awaits interrogation. He has been placed in a stress position by tying a board between his arms.

A stress position, also known as a submission position, places the human body in such a way that a great amount of weight is placed on just one or two muscles. For example, a subject may be forced to stand on the balls of his feet, then squat so that his thighs are parallel to the ground. This creates an intense amount of pressure on the legs, leading first to pain and then muscle failure.

Forcing prisoners to adopt such positions is a method of torture used for extracting information or as a punishment.

See also

• Psychological torture
• Hands up punishment
• Murga punishment
• Enhanced interrogation techniques
• Submission hold

External links

• Human Rights First; Leave No Marks: Enhanced Interrogation Techniques and the Risk of Criminality