Are you sitting comfortably? Just stop for a moment and without adjusting, watch your posture. What are your legs doing? Are they crossed? And is it a left or right cruiser?
About 62% of people cross from right to left, 26% go the other way and 12% have no preference.
There are usually two ways to sit in a chair and cross your legs, one at the knee and the other at the ankle. But, as comfortable as it is to sit with your legs crossed, is it bad for your health and posture?
For starters, research shows that sitting cross-legged can increase hip misalignment, with one side higher than the other. And it changes the speed at which blood moves through blood vessels in your lower limbs, which can increase your risk of blood clots.
Most research suggests that crossing the knees is worse than the ankles. In fact, sitting that way can cause an increase in blood pressure due to the pooling of blood in the veins and the heart’s work against it. And this can increase the risk of damage to blood vessels, which is why, when measuring blood pressure, you should keep your feet flat on the floor.
effect on the body
The longer and more often you sit cross-legged, the more likely you are to have long-term changes in muscle lengths and muscles. bony arrangements of the pelvis. And because of the way the skeleton is joined together, crossing the legs can also cause misalignment of the spine and shoulders.
Head position can potentially become misaligned due to changes in the bones of the neck as the column compensates to keep the center of gravity above the pelvis.
Your neck can also be affected due to one side of the body being weaker than the other. The same imbalance can be seen in the muscles of the pelvis and lower back, as result of bad posture and tensions caused by sitting cross-legged.
The pelvis can also become misaligned due to prolonged stretching of the gluteal muscles on one side, which means that they make weaker.
Sitting for a long time with your legs crossed increases the likelihood of scoliosis (abnormal spinal alignment) and other deformities. It can also cause greater trochanteric pain syndrome, a common and painful condition that affects the outer side of the hip and thigh.
Research also shows that sitting cross-legged can put the peroneal nerve in the lower leg in risk of compression and injury. This usually manifests itself as a weakness when trying to lift the little toe side of the foot, as well as the more worrisome foot drop – where the entire foot hangs. Although in most cases, this is short-lived and returns to normal within a few minutes.
There is also evidence that crossing the legs can affect sperm production. That’s because the temperature of the testicles needs to be between 2°C and 6°C below standard body temperature.
Sitting down increases the temperature of the testicles by 2°C and crossing the legs can increase the temperature of the testicles by up to 3.5°C. Studies suggest that an increase in the temperature of the scrotum or testicle can reduce sperm count and quality.
It’s also worth noting that, due to the differences in the anatomy of men and women, it’s probably much easier for women to sit cross-legged – mainly because men have a reduced range of motion in their hips.
some benefits
But research indicates that sitting cross-legged can be beneficial for some people. A small 2016 study, for example, found that for people who have one leg longer than the other, sitting cross-legged can help adjust the height of the two sides of the pelvisimproving alignment.
Sitting cross-legged also seems to reduce the activity of some muscles, particularly the oblique muscles (the ones under the skin where you place your hands on your hips) compared to sitting with your legs out in front of you. This can help to relax the core muscles and avoid overexertion.
Likewise, there is evidence that sitting cross-legged improves stability of the sacroiliac joints (responsible for transferring weight between the spine and the legs).
And, of course, the famous yoga pose or meditation (lotus position) sees people sitting on the floor with their legs crossed. Although there is limited data on whether long periods of time spent in this position can lead to some of the problems caused by sitting cross-legged in a chair. In fact, for many people, yoga offers enormous benefits – even those who already have knee problems.
So the verdict? It’s probably best to avoid crossing your legs if you can. Despite this, many of the risk factors associated with crossing your legs are likely exacerbated by other underlying issues such as sedentary lifestyles and obesity. So with that in mind, the main advice is don’t stand still in the same position for a long time and keep active regularly.
