Why You Shouldn't Cross Your Legs When Sitting

As a lady, you were probably made to believe that you have to do everything in a ladylike fashion. The way you walk, the way to talk, the way you carry yourself, even the way you sit. It might surprise you that this sitting pattern isn't gender-specific; it could also be noticed in men.

These teachings have so been imbibed into your being that you cannot conveniently sit without crossing your legs. Well, this article aims at making you understand why crossing your legs while sitting isn't so good for your health.

• Sitting cross-legged all the time might harm your spine, especially if you skew strongly to one side every time. Sciatic pain in the legs and limbs can be caused by low back pain that radiates up to the neck or out.

• Crossing your legs also puts undue pressure on your circulatory system. Your legs fight gravity so as to keep blood flowing as it should while you sit. Crossing your legs, on the other hand, makes it even more difficult for blood to circulate to different parts of your body, producing vein inflammation and perhaps increasing your chance of a blood clot. The cross-legged position has a significant impact on blood circulation. This is due to the fact that crossing one leg over the other pumps more blood into the heart. This, in turn, has a negative effect on blood circulation.
• Because your nerves are located just behind your knees, sitting with your legs crossed puts additional pressure on them. It's why you feel numb after sitting for a long time, especially if your legs are crossed.
• Leg crossing has also been linked to poor posture and its consequences for the back, hips, and pelvis (primarily by chiropractors). Crossing one's legs might be uncomfortable for persons who have back or hip problems. If you try it, you might notice that your back muscles contract a little. It's simple to see how leg crossing could be an issue if the same places are inflamed in other ways.
• Because your buttocks are perched unevenly when you cross your legs, you create a smaller and less sturdy base to sit on. To maintain balance, your body overcompensates by hunching over. This tendency can lead to poor posture and trouble straightening up and standing tall over time.
• Blood is pumped out from your heart by arteries and returned by veins. Varicose veins and spider veins appear when the tiny one-way valves in the veins are damaged and cannot pump blood back to the heart. Instead, due to gravity and the fact that individuals spend the majority of their time upright or standing, blood flows in the opposite direction and pools in the lower extremities. Legs and ankles, unfortunately, are positioned in that lower section of the body.

• Sitting crossed-legged for a long time raises blood pressure by putting pressure on the nerves. Even those without high blood pressure should avoid sitting in this position for long periods of time.
Sitting with your legs crossed might also cause pelvic instability. This is because this position might cause damage to your inner and outer thigh muscles. Your leg joints may be jeopardized as a result of this.