Many people like to sit with their legs crossed, either at the knee or at the ankle. But did you know that this habit can be bad for your health and posture? Here are some reasons why you should avoid sitting with your legs crossed too often.
Spine and Shoulders
Sitting with your legs crossed can make your hips uneven, which can affect your spine and shoulders. Your head can also tilt to one side because of the changes in your neck bones. This can cause pain and stiffness in your neck and back.
Blood Flow
blood flowSitting with your legs crossed can slow down the blood flow in your lower legs, which can increase the risk of blood clots. Blood clots can block the blood vessels and cause serious problems like heart attacks or strokes. Crossing your legs can also raise your blood pressure because your heart has to work harder to pump the blood. That’s why you should keep your feet flat on the floor when you measure your blood pressure.
Pelvis Alignment
Sitting with your legs crossed for a long time can change the shape and length of your muscles and bones in your pelvis. This can make one side of your body weaker than the other and affect your balance and coordination. It can also make your buttock muscles stretch and lose strength, which can affect your pelvis alignment.
Nerve Damage
Sitting with your legs crossed can cause nerve damage in your lower leg. The nerve that runs along the outside of your leg can get squeezed and injured when you cross your legs. This can make you feel weak or numb in your foot or toes. Sometimes, you may not be able to lift or move your foot at all. This is called foot drop and it can make you trip or fall easily. Usually, this goes away after a few minutes, but it can be permanent if you keep crossing your legs.
Fertility
Sitting with your legs crossed can affect your fertility if you are a man. This is because crossing your legs can make your testicles too hot. Your testicles need to be cooler than the rest of your body to produce healthy sperm. If they get too hot, they may not work well and reduce your sperm count.
So, as you can see, sitting with your legs crossed is not good for you in many ways. It can cause pain, stiffness, nerve damage, blood clots, high blood pressure, and fertility problems. You should try to sit with your feet flat on the floor or uncrossed as much as possible. If you have to cross your legs, do it for a short time and switch sides often. You should also get up and move around every 30 minutes to improve your blood circulation and posture.
