Is Sitting Cross-Legged Bad? Get The Answer From An Expert

It’s an elegant position, but crossing your legs can have long-term consequences. Physiotherapist Juana Matos explains everything to us.

The specialist began by confirming that sitting cross-legged is not a healthy practice “because it increases the risk of compensation and imbalance in the body, which leads to increased pain and discomfort and worsening of varicose veins.”

Consequences of crossing your legs:

• Compensations and tensions in the spinal muscles;
• Pain in the lower back, neck and shoulders;
• Increased risk of scoliosis;
• Appearance of herniated discs;
• Compression of the sciatic nerve;
• Compression and injury of the peroneal nerve;
• Hip misalignment;
• Imbalance of the pelvic, lumbar, cervical and shoulder muscles;
• Worsening of varicose veins.

One of the biggest concerns, especially for women, is the worsening of varicose veins . Physiotherapist Juana Matos explains: “crossing your legs prevents the passage of blood, which in turn puts pressure on the walls of these veins, giving rise to the risk of clot formation, as varicose veins appear when blood accumulates in the veins, in the face of a malfunction of small valves”.

The direction in which you cross your legs, for example, from right to left, has no influence on the effects. “It doesn’t matter whether you cross to one side or the other, the problem is always maintaining the same position or repeating the movement”, he says.

What is the most correct way to sit?

For those who work every day sitting at a desk, it is very difficult to avoid crossing their legs. The specialist explains that there is no correct position, but rather ways of being that help us to be more comfortable, such as: placing the monitor in the field of vision (in front of the screen), resting our elbows on the desk so that they are at 90 degrees; lumbar and cervical preferably well supported; legs at 90 degrees and apart; material close; avoid bending over and, most importantly, lift and move your body or even stretch regularly , without maintaining the same position for a long time.

To finish, Juana Matos shared a curiosity: “stretching is the best stretch for the human body, it’s not rude!”.

About The Author

Mackenzie Bean

Vice President and Managing Editor for Becker’s Hospital Review, covering news on patient safety, clinical quality and infection control. George V Magazine Health Editor.

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