Many people find it comfortable to sit cross-legged. The habit is supposedly not so good from a health point of view – you read that again and again. A special warning therefore applies to men. Is that really true? FITBOOK got smart.
Most do it, very few think about it: sit cross-legged. There are apparently numerous arguments against it for medical reasons. An anatomy expert and health editor recently published some of them in a contribution to the online publication “Science Alert“ collected. FITBOOK summarizes – and asked German experts whether the popular seating position should really be rated so critically.
Sitting with your legs crossed is said to be harmful
According to author Adam Taylor, professor and chair of the Department of Anatomy at the University of California San Francisco, sitting cross-legged can be harmful in a number of ways.
Negative orthopedic effects
From an orthopedic point of view, the posture, which is unusual for the body, can promote a misalignment of the hips, among other things. The probability of scoliosis and other deformations should also increase. The expert also claims that his research found that crossing the legs can promote various conditions that can cause severe pain on the outer sides of the hip and thigh, collectively known as Trochanteric Major Pain Syndrome.
“The longer and more often you sit cross-legged, the more likely you are to experience long-term changes in muscle length and bone arrangement in your pelvis,” the post reads. But apparently that’s not all. Sitting with crossed legs changes the posture of the head, which is why the muscles in the neck area are permanently affected.
Consequences for the cardiovascular system
The possible consequences for the cardiovascular system are just as serious. Sitting with your legs crossed has a negative effect on circulation, which increases the risk of blood clots over the long term. Furthermore, crossing your knees could increase blood pressure and congestion in the veins, which would put a tremendous strain on the heart.
Are men particularly at risk?
There are also gender-specific risks. From an anatomical point of view, it is easier for women to sit cross-legged, according to author Taylor. Not least because the range of motion of men in the hip area is limited. The tenor of the article is that they shouldn’t try at all. Because in men, sitting crossed could be at the expense of sperm quality and quantity. The constriction caused by this causes the temperature in the genital area to rise – this should ideally be between 2 and 6 degrees Celsius lower than in the rest of the body. Editor Taylor refers to a scientific paper according to which “heat stress induces oxidative stress in the testicles, which (…) can lead to reversible changes”.1
That a careless sitting position causes so much damage – is that possible? FITBOOK didn’t want to take any risks and immediately asked two experts – an orthopedist and a urologist.
Orthopaedist: “Rather not harmful for healthy patients”
The first impulse from Caroline Skuhr, specialist in orthopedics at Munich’s Marianowicz Center: “The amount makes the poison.” According to Skuhr, it is not harmful for patients who are basically healthy to occasionally cross their legs. However, one must also see the body as a chain. Crossing the legs creates an imbalance in the pelvis, which the spine automatically tries to compensate with an appropriate posture. For people with pre-existing spinal conditions—including those who may not be aware of them—sitting posture may be a trigger for the problems to some extent
The doctor takes a somewhat more critical view of the consequences for the blood vessels, and here too in particular for people with the corresponding pre-existing conditions or who have certain risk factors. She mentions existing tendencies to vascular damage, thrombosis and also hormonal influences (e.g. taking the pill, pregnancy) and smoking. In these cases, sitting cross-legged all the time is at least not ideal.
Do not exaggerate
But in general you should not overdo it with the entangled posture. For example, while sitting with your legs crossed, you can also put your foot around the front of your shin from behind, as women in particular often do. Because: “Two branches of the sciatic nerve run through the hollow of the knee,” says Skuhr. Nerves therefore react to pressure with different symptoms. If it starts to tingle or if the leg even falls asleep, this should be interpreted as an immediate sign to change position.
Urologist also gives the all-clear
Also urologist dr medical Christopher Pies would not immediately join in with the US expert’s calls for alarm. It is true that pressure and high temperatures are potentially harmful factors for masculinity – “theoretically”. This also applies to the conditions during sports or in the sauna. In practice, one does not really encounter such consequences. “You don’t sit for hours with your legs tightly pressed together,” says the doctor, “but change position from time to time, stretch out a leg.” According to Dr. Pies in good time before they seriously harm themselves with the way they sit.
Conclusion
Sitting cross-legged is not a problem per se. However, people with previous illnesses or stress should not overdo it. And even healthy people would do well to listen to their body’s signals – especially since these show relatively clearly when the supposedly comfortable sitting position is showing unwanted symptoms.