The problem with crossing your legs.
Minute For Your Health #30
I’ve never thought more about the alignment of my pelvis than during this third trimester of my pregnancy.
Suddenly my posture really matters - it could make the sensations and process of labour either significantly easier or significantly harder.
One thing I hear all the time is that I should be sitting on my sitz bones (literally sitting bones) and that I should not cross my legs.
In the nutritional therapy world crossed legs are often mentioned as a factor that contributes to poor breathing, increased anxiety and chronic pain 😳
Now that I’m constantly reminding myself to STOP CROSSING MY LEGS, I thought it might be helpful for me (and hopefully you) to understand why you shouldn’t cross your legs.
It turns out, research shows that sitting on a chair with crossed legs* can contribute to:
Imbalanced abdominal muscles
Pelvic misalignment
Scoliosis (malformed curving of the spine)
Weakened lung capacity (hence poor breathing)
Reduced chest wall mobility (again poor breathing)
Lower back pain
My guess is that the reduced capacity for deep, calm breathing is what makes nutritional therapists link crossed legs with increased anxiety - but I couldn’t find any studies on this.
*I should clarify that this is very different from sitting cross-legged on the floor on your sitz bones and with an upright spine.
Are you a leg crosser?
If you’re a leg crosser and suffer from lower back pain, pelvic pain, sciatica or anxiety consider changing the leg crossing habit for a few weeks.
How to sit instead:
Sit on your sitz bones (those two pointy bones near your butt). According to my prenatal Spinning Babies class it’s helpful to imagine a torch shining out of your belly button. That torch should be shining down or straight ahead as you sit, never up.
It can be helpful to turn your chair around and sit with your front against the chair’s back to help you keep your legs apart and your lean slightly forwards.
Know a leg-crosser? Share this article with them.
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Links and References:
Spinning Babies. (2021). Maternal Positioning - A Helpful Guide - Spinning Babies. [online] Available at: https://www.spinningbabies.com/about/maternal-positioning/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2021].
Ahn, H.-E. (2019). The Effects of Sitting in a Crossed Legs Posture on the Vertebral Angle, Chest Wall Mobility, Pulmonary Function, and Respiratory Muscle Activity: A Preliminary Study. Journal of The Korean Society of Physical Medicine, [online] 14(3), pp.13–20. Available at: http://www.jkspm.org/journal/view.html?uid=852&&vmd=Full [Accessed 24 Feb. 2021].
Gimson M. Weight distribution in sitting and the effect of leg-crossing. J Physiother 2003;89 2:125.
Andersson BJ, Ortengren R, and Nachemson AL et al. The sitting posture:an electromyographic and discometric study. Orthop Clin North Am 1975;6 1:105-20.
Woo HS, Oh JC, and Won SY. Effects of asymmetric sitting on spinal balance. J Phys Ther Sci 2016;28 2:355-9.
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