If you cross
your legs, you are keeping them tidy and not taking up too much room. The other
extreme is if you are male, you may be caught “man spreading.” This is where
you spread your legs and take up about 3 seats on public transport.
But is crossing your legs
actually bad for you? It depends on a lot of factors, the main ones being how
long and how often you actually do it. This is what the research has found.
1. It may temporarily raise
your blood pressure
Various small scale
studies have been done on this. Most studies confirm that this habit does put
up your blood pressure, but only temporarily. Crossing your legs is not going
to cause high
blood pressure. According to one study, crossing your legs can increase systolic BP by 7%
and diastolic by 2%. The researchers noticed that crossing the ankles made no
difference whatsoever in the BP readings.
2. It may cause back and
neck pain
According to one physical
therapist, Vivian Eisenstadt, you
are liable to have increased back and neck pain if you cross your legs
frequently. She maintains that the hips are slightly twisted when in this
position and can cause imbalances in the pelvis. This will put pressure on the
spine and that is likely to lead to back pain and even neck pain later on.
“Days and weeks of doing this
(leg crossing) are one of the main reasons we have back and neck pain, as well
as herniated discs.” – Dr. Vivian Eisenstadt
3. It may be linked to
spider and varicose veins
Almost half the US population
have spider veins (55% of women and 45% of men) according to the US Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS).Is there a link between these veins and keeping your
legs crossed? Some experts believe that genetics, sun exposure and long periods
of standing are mainly to blame. However, others believe crossing legs can be a
factor. Dr. Hooman Madyoon, a cardiologist at Cedars Sinai Medical Center
explains how this happens:
“Crossing your legs increases
the pressure on your veins that are responsible for returning blood back to
your heart. The pressure of one leg on top of the other impedes your blood
flow, which can weaken or damage the veins in your legs. If the veins are
damaged or weakened, the blood can leak into them and collect there, causing
spider veins or exacerbating existing ones.” – Dr. Madyoon
4. It can cause nerve
damage
As we know,
the sciatic nerve is the largest in the human body and stretches from the lower
back right down to our feet. One branch of the sciatic nerve is the peroneal nerve. Any pressure on this such as leg crossing can cause
numbness and tingling and over time may actually damage the nerve. This damage
can result in long-term numbness and foot drop, according to the Mayo Clinic.
HOW TO BREAK THIS HABIT
Here are some suggestions for
you to follow if you find that you are keeping legs crossed for too long and
too often. Try to avoid it for longer than ten or fifteen minutes. Every half
hour, you should get up and walk around, if working conditions allow for that.
Try to get a decent chair which gives you adequate support for your lower back
and also make a conscious effort to keep both feet on the floor, with knees and
hips as close to ninety degrees as possible.
“The best advice is always not
to sit with your legs crossed.”- Dr. Richard Graves,
podiatrist
Last, but not least, your leg
crossing is sending the wrong message when you are in meetings and networking.
If you cross your legs tightly, it presents a rather unwelcoming and closed
view of yourself as if you are trying to build a mini fortress around yourself.
Body language is often sending more information than what we are actually
saying.
“Our nonverbals govern how
other people think and feel about us.” – Amy Cuddy
Slightly modified from original
article by Robert Locke
Image: www.pinterest.com
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