Why Squatting Could Be Bad For You | Science and health

Are you sitting comfortably? Pause for a moment and, without changing your position, watch your posture. What do your legs do? Did they cross?

And do you cross your right leg over your left, or your left over your right? About 62% of people cross right over left, 26% do the opposite, and 12% don’t prefer it.

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There are usually two ways to sit in a chair and place your legs, one at the knee and one above the ankle.

But as comfortable as it is to squat, is it harmful to your health or posture? Let’s take a look at the evidence.

For starters, research shows that squatting can increase hip misalignment, where one side sits higher than the other.

It also changes the speed at which blood moves through the blood vessels in the lower extremities, which can increase the risk of clots.

Most research indicates that leg crossing at the knees is worse than crossing the ankles.

In fact, sitting this way can cause your blood pressure to rise due to the pooling of blood in the veins, and the heart has to work to compensate for this. It can increase the risk of blood vessel damage.

For this reason, when measuring your blood pressure, you should keep your feet flat on the floor.

effect on the body

The longer you squat, the more likely you are to notice long-term changes in muscle lengths and the structure of your pelvic bones.

Because of the way the skeleton is interconnected, crossing the legs can also cause a misalignment of the spine and shoulders.

The position of the head can become skewed due to changes in the bones of the neck, as the spine compensates to keep the center of gravity above the pelvis.

Your neck can also be affected because one side of your body is weaker than the other.

The same imbalance can be seen in the muscles of the pelvis and lower back as a result of poor posture, pressure and stress caused by squatting.

The pelvis can also become skewed due to prolonged stretching of the gluteal muscles on one side, which means they become weaker.

Sitting for a long time with your legs crossed increases the chance of developing scoliosis (abnormal spinal alignment) and other deformities.

It can also cause trochanteric pain syndrome, which is a common and painful condition that affects the outer side of the hip and thigh.

Research also shows that squatting can put the peroneal nerve, also known as the peroneal nerve, in your lower leg at risk of compression and injury.

This usually manifests as weakness when trying to raise the side of the little toe, and also in the more worrisome case of foot drop – when the entire foot dangles. Although in most cases it is short-lived and returns to normal within a few minutes.

There is also evidence that cross-legged can affect sperm production.

This is because the temperature of the testicles should be between 2 and 6 degrees Celsius lower than the standard body temperature.

Sitting increases the temperature of the testicles by 2°C, and crossing the legs can increase the temperature of the testicles by up to 3.5°C.

Studies show that increasing the temperature of the scrotum or testicles can reduce sperm count and quality.

It should also be noted that due to the differences in the anatomy of men and women, it is likely that it will be easier for women to sit cross-legged – mainly because men have a reduced range of motion in the hips.

legs and joints

But research also suggests that squatting can be beneficial for some people.

A small 2016 study, for example, found that for those with one leg longer than the other, squatting can help adjust the height of the sides of the pelvis, which improves straightening.

Squatting seems to reduce the activity of some muscles, especially the oblique muscles (the ones just under the skin where you rest your hands on your hips) compared to sitting with your legs out in front.

This can help relax your core muscles and prevent strain.

Similarly, there is evidence that squatting improves the stability of the sacroiliac joints (which are responsible for weight transfer between the spine and the legs).

And, of course, the popular yoga or meditation posture (lotus pose) allows people to sit on the floor with their legs crossed.

However, there is limited data on whether spending extended periods of time in this position can lead to some of the problems caused by squatting in a chair.

In fact, yoga has many benefits for many people — even those who already have knee problems.

But, after all, what is the verdict?

If you can, it’s probably best to avoid crossing your legs.

However, many of the risk factors associated with having your legs crossed are likely to be exacerbated by other underlying issues such as a sedentary lifestyle and obesity.

With this in mind, the main recommendation is not to stay in the same position for too long and to keep yourself active regularly.

Adam Taylor is Professor and Director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Center at Lancaster University in the UK.

This article originally appeared on the academic news site The Conversation and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. Read the original version here (in English).