I have created a rag doll using dynamic bodies (rectangles) and simple revolute joints (with lower and upper angles). When my rag doll hits the ground (which is a static body) the bodies seem to fidget and the joints separate.

It looks like the bodies are sticking to the ground, and the momentum of the rag doll pulls the joint apart (see screenshot below).

I'm not sure if it's related, but I'm using the Badlogic GDX Java wrapper for Box2D. Here's some snippets of what I think is the most relevant code:

private RevoluteJoint joinBodyParts(
    Body a, Body b, Vector2 anchor, 
    float lowerAngle, float upperAngle) {

    RevoluteJointDef jointDef = new RevoluteJointDef();

    jointDef.initialize(a, b, a.getWorldPoint(anchor));

    jointDef.enableLimit = true;
    jointDef.lowerAngle = lowerAngle;
    jointDef.upperAngle = upperAngle;

    return (RevoluteJoint)world.createJoint(jointDef);
}

private Body createRectangleBodyPart(
    float x, float y, float width, float height) {

    PolygonShape shape = new PolygonShape();
    shape.setAsBox(width, height);

    BodyDef bodyDef = new BodyDef();
    bodyDef.type = BodyType.DynamicBody;
    bodyDef.position.y = y;
    bodyDef.position.x = x;

    Body body = world.createBody(bodyDef);

    FixtureDef fixtureDef = new FixtureDef();
    fixtureDef.shape = shape;
    fixtureDef.density = 10;

    fixtureDef.filter.groupIndex = -1;
    fixtureDef.filter.categoryBits = FILTER_BOY;
    fixtureDef.filter.maskBits = FILTER_STUFF | FILTER_WALL;

    body.createFixture(fixtureDef);
    shape.dispose();

    return body;
}

I've skipped the method for creating the head, as it's pretty much the same as the rectangle method (just using a cricle shape).

Those methods are used like so:

    torso = createRectangleBodyPart(x, y + 5, 0.25f, 1.5f);
    Body head = createRoundBodyPart(x, y + 7.4f, 1);

    Body leftLegTop = createRectangleBodyPart(x, y + 2.7f, 0.25f, 1);
    Body rightLegTop = createRectangleBodyPart(x, y + 2.7f, 0.25f, 1);
    Body leftLegBottom = createRectangleBodyPart(x, y + 1, 0.25f, 1);
    Body rightLegBottom = createRectangleBodyPart(x, y + 1, 0.25f, 1);

    Body leftArm = createRectangleBodyPart(x, y + 5, 0.25f, 1.2f);
    Body rightArm = createRectangleBodyPart(x, y + 5, 0.25f, 1.2f);

    joinBodyParts(torso, head, new Vector2(0, 1.6f), headAngle);

    leftLegTopJoint = joinBodyParts(torso, leftLegTop, new Vector2(0, -1.2f), 0.1f, legAngle);
    rightLegTopJoint = joinBodyParts(torso, rightLegTop, new Vector2(0, -1.2f), 0.1f, legAngle);
    leftLegBottomJoint = joinBodyParts(leftLegTop, leftLegBottom, new Vector2(0, -1), -legAngle * 1.5f, 0);
    rightLegBottomJoint = joinBodyParts(rightLegTop, rightLegBottom, new Vector2(0, -1), -legAngle * 1.5f, 0);

    leftArmJoint = joinBodyParts(torso, leftArm, new Vector2(0, 1), -armAngle * 0.7f, armAngle);
    rightArmJoint = joinBodyParts(torso, rightArm, new Vector2(0, 1), -armAngle * 0.7f, armAngle);