Should you avoid sitting with your legs crossed?

Have you ever paid attention to how you sit in your office or a restaurant? Most of us find it comfortable to sit with one leg crossed over the other. And if you will observe people around you, you will find how common this pattern is. It has become a sort of habit and even in our subconscious mind, we tend to follow it. Anyone would have hardly thought the drawback of sitting in this posture.

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It is not that sitting with crossed legs will lead to a medical emergency. But it might increase your blood pressure, posture and can lead to knee issues and numbness. Even pregnant women are advised to avoid this posture as it can lead to birth-related complications. Some of the claims are true and some are mere theories. Let’s discover the truths behind these claims.

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Two studies published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing and Journal of Hypertension revealed that sitting with your legs crossed leads to a slight spike in your blood pressure. As per the study published in the first journal, there was a slight spike in the blood pressure when the participants crossed their legs at knees. However, no changes were witnessed when legs were crossed at the ankle. It is important to note that the spike in the blood pressure was only temporary.

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From a long time, it was believed that sitting with your legs crossed leads to varicose veins, but that is not true.

Varicose veins are caused when there are some complications within the valves in your veins and it has to work harder to pump blood towards the heart. In this condition, the blood gets collected and cause bulging in the veins. People who either keep sitting or standing for a very long are at the risk of developing Varicose veins. It has nothing to do with your sitting posture.

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The sitting posture does not have any severe impact even on pregnant women. For sure it won’t hurt the baby. However, you may experience slight ankle pain, muscle strain or backache. This is because when you are carrying another life inside your belly, your body goes through many internal changes.

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Knee pain can be caused due to several reasons like injury, arthritis or any other medical condition. Only in the rare case sitting crossed leg can cause joint or knees issue. Moreover, if you are already suffering from any kind of knees related issue then sitting in a particular pose for a long time can make your condition worse.

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To keep the alignment of your posture correct and avoid any complication later in life it is best to not to sit with your legs crossed. It might be difficult to give up this habit in the beginning, but don’t stop trying.

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