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Do you sit with your legs crossed?
February 18, 2013
Are you sitting right now? Evaluate your posture: are your legs crossed? Almost half (45%) of women cross their legs most or nearly all of the time, even though 75% of these women know it is bad for them. It is a matter of routine rather than manners for women, over 70% of who claim they do it out of habit, not thinking or realizing what they are doing!
So why is leg crossing a ‘bad habit’?
When you are in the seated position with both feet on the floor, your spine is resting squarely on your pelvis. When you cross one leg over your opposite knee, it raises one hip and puts increased pressure on the other, which causes your spine to shift its position. If you sit like this for extended periods of time (and most of us do), it can result in lower back, pelvic, hip and knee pain. By shifting the position of the hips, pelvis and spine, crossing your legs shortens the muscles on one side of your lower back. If left in this position, these muscles become chronically shortened, and can lead to a great deal of back pain and spasm. This position also increases the pressure put on your sciatic nerve, which runs through your lower back, buttocks, and down both legs to the feet. Scientists have proven that it only takes the pressure of the weight of a dime on a nerve to cause 60% altered function in that particular nerve.
Sitting with your legs crossed can also inhibit circulation in your legs, leading to varicose veins and other circulatory problems.
Break the habit!
Human beings are creatures of habit, and they are never easy to break. Although hard-wired into your routines, this habit is one worth breaking. Instead of fully crossing your legs at your knees, try crossing them at your ankles instead.
carrickfergus, chiropractor, back pain, neck pain, headaches, sciatica
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