Are you sitting comfortably? Stop for a moment and, without adjusting, notice your posture. What are your legs doing? Are they crossed? Are you one of those who cross to the right or to the left?
62% of people cross their legs to the right, 26% the other way around and 12% have no preference.
There are two typical ways to sit in a chair and cross your legs: at the knee and at the ankle. But as comfortable as it is to sit cross-legged, is it bad for your health and posture?
Let’s take a look at the tests.
For starters, studies show that sitting cross-legged can increase misalignment of the hips, with one higher than the other.
In addition, it alters the speed at which blood circulates through the blood vessels of the lower extremities, which can increase the risk of clot formation.
Most studies suggest that crossing your knees is worse than crossing your ankles.
In fact, sitting in this way can cause an increase in blood pressure due to the accumulation of blood in the veins and the heart has to work to avoid it.
For this reason, when they take your blood pressure, you must support your feet on the ground.
Effects on the body
The longer and more often you sit cross-legged, the more likely long-term changes in the length of the muscles and the arrangement of the pelvic bones will occur.
Additionally, due to the way the skeleton articulates, crossing the legs can also lead to misalignment of the spine and shoulders.
Head position can become misaligned due to changes in the neck bones, as the spine compensates to keep the center of gravity above the pelvis.
The neck can also be affected, because one side of the body is weaker than the other.
The same imbalance is often seen in the muscles of the pelvis and lower back as a result of poor posture, as well as the stresses and pressures caused by sitting cross-legged.
The pelvis also tends to get out of adjustment due to prolonged stretching of the gluteal muscles (buttocks) on one side, which means they become weak.
Sitting cross-legged for a long time increases the chance of scoliosis (abnormal alignment of the spine) and other deformities.
In addition, it usually causes greater trochanteric pain syndrome, a frequent ailment that affects the outer side of the hip and thigh.
Research shows that sitting cross-legged can put the peroneal nerve in the lower leg—known as the fibular nerve—at risk of compression and injury.
This often manifests as weakness when trying to lift the little toe and worrisome foot drop.
Although in most cases, this is short-lived and returns to normal within a few minutes.
There is evidence that crossing your legs can affect sperm production. This is because the temperature of the testicles should be between 2°C and 6°C below normal body temperature.
Sitting 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 testicles often reduces both sperm count and quality.
Keep in mind that due to anatomical differences between men and women, it is easier for women to sit cross-legged, especially since men have less range of motion at the hip.
The benefits
Research, however, does indicate that sitting cross-legged may 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 pelvis, improving alignment.
Sitting cross-legged also seems to reduce the activity of some muscles, especially the obliques (the ones under the skin where you put your hands on your hips) compared to sitting with your legs forward. This can help relax your core muscles and prevent overexertion.
Similarly, sitting cross-legged has been shown to improve the stability of the sacroiliac joints (responsible for transferring weight between the spine and legs).
And, of course, the famous yoga or meditation posture (lotus position), in which people sit cross-legged on the floor.
There is little data on whether spending long periods of time in this position can cause some of the problems caused by sitting cross-legged in a chair.
However, yoga offers great benefits to many people, even those who already have knee problems. What’s the verdict?
It’s probably best to avoid crossing your legs if you can.
That being said, many of the risk factors associated with crossing your legs are compounded by other underlying issues, such as a sedentary lifestyle and obesity.
So with this in mind, the main advice is not to sit in one position for too long and to be active regularly.
Keep reading:
* 6 bad postures that we adopt without realizing it (and how to improve them)
* 8 stretches to do before going to bed that will relieve muscle pain
* Why do our feet fall asleep and how can we avoid it?
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