Crossing your legs seems like a perfectly harmless act. Everyone does it (usually on a daily basis), and most people do not even think twice about it. Although there are no immediately recognizable negative effects of crossing your legs, other than a brief tingling sensation in your foot, it can lead to some unseen consequences when it comes to your back and spine.
The Effects of Leg Crossing
There are several different ways to cross your legs, the most common of which include: Crossing;
- your feet at the ankles.
- one knee over the other.
- one ankle over the other knee.
Many people have heard that crossing your legs can lead to the development of varicose veins. Or can lead to increased blood pressure and heart problems. These are not necessarily true – more research still needs to be done before these claims can be made conclusively. The more concerning impact of leg crossing involves the spine.
Crossing one leg over the other, rather than sitting with both feet flat on the ground, puts your hips in a torqued position. (That is force to an object in this case back). Which can lead to the rotation of one of your pelvic bones. Since your pelvis is the base of support for your spine, it puts unnecessary pressure on your neck and lower and middle back when it is rotated and unstable. And the longer you sit with your legs crossed, the more pressure you put on your spine. This increases the risk of back pain.
So, should you Stop Crossing Legs Completely?
Crossing your legs can be incredibly comfortable – that is why many people do it on a regular basis. So should you completely cut leg crossing out of your routine? Truth be told, crossing your legs once in a while or for short periods of time probably will not hurt your back. But keeping your legs crossed for lengthy periods of time, and simply sitting down for long periods of time, can lead to the development of lower back pain.
So cut out the sitting from your routine as much as possible. Get up from your desk and walk to the water cooler once every hour. Better yet, invest in a stand up desk if your office allows it. Whatever you can do to keep your body active and avoid long periods of sitting (with or without crossed legs) will ultimately benefit your spine health and reduce back pain.
