Sitting with your legs crossed is something that happens frequently, but in the long run it can cause quite significant problems!
The posture it is the position that the human body assumes in space. Often, we tend to get used to certain positions from an early age, which then become totally instinctive over time, to the point that we don’t even notice it. In reality, however, it would be appropriate to pay more attention to these details, because they can even affect our health.
The concept of spatiality is immediately following that of posture. Balance should be defined as the best relationship between the subject and the surrounding environment, whose terrain in developed countries today is flat. Both in statics and in dynamics, the human body assumes an optimal balance according to the environmental stimuli it receives and the motor program it adopts at a precise moment.
The experience of the person in the environment in which he lives has a significant influence on posture. It is also determined by stress, physical and emotional trauma. Furthermore, it happens to assume incorrect postures due to work or study and make them fully ours while maintaining them over time. Another significant aspect is breathing, as well as any biochemical imbalances deriving from a wrong diet.
All these factors affect the muscles, creating a state of permanent shortening. In fact, the posture of men and women is constantly changing, a process that never ends over a more or less long life. You should also know that certain very comfortable and seemingly trivial postures can actually cause serious health problems in the long run.
This is the case, for example, of legs crossed, a posture that is frequently assumed when sitting down, by obligation or by one’s own will. Well sit by positioning the lower limbs in that way increases the risk of skeletal deformations and cardiovascular problems. To explain it on ‘The Conversation‘ And Adam Taylordirector of the Center for Clinical Anatomy Studies at Lancaster University.
Legs crossed while seated: here are the long-term effects
Going even more specifically, this position of the legs while seated can lead to a misalignment of the hips, causing one to be slightly higher than the other. As if that weren’t enough, it favors blood stagnation, which leads to heart fatigue.
This considerably increases the chances of contracting a thrombosis. Furthermore, it can cause significant back problems, especially if this type of posture is maintained for a long time. In short, it is good not to underestimate what today seems to us to be the most absolute normality, but which could prove harmful to our body in the future.
Some attitudes, however, represent real vices, which it is difficult to erase or at least significantly reduce. This is why in these cases it is worth contacting an expert professional, i.e. the so-called posturologist. Officially they do not exist on paper, because to date there is still no professionalizing university degree, but only courses and masters in posturology.
What does the posturologist do
In fact, it is one of the disciplines that are part of the large family of complementary medicines, i.e. not integrated into the national health system and not regulated by the university regime.
In any case, the posturologist – through in-depth studies – is able to formulate postural diagnoses and develop rehabilitation programs by supporting physiotherapists, osteopaths, physiatrists, gnathologists, podiatrists and vision specialists. He is dedicated to the scientific and clinical study of human postureboth in static and dynamic conditions.
Furthermore, identify receptor disorders, which are responsible for any ocular, vestibular, stomatognathic and foot disorders. Thanks to their intervention, it is possible to implement postural re-education in order to restore harmony and eliminate the imbalances generated by the inconsistency between the inputs sent to the brain and the output signal transmitted to the tonic postural system.
Crossed legs and the risk of thrombosis: that’s what it’s all about
As written above, you should avoid crossing your legs also in order not to increase the risk of thrombosis. But what is thrombosis? For the uninitiated, we are dealing with one fatal pathology, of which only one out of three Italians is aware. The reason why it is essential to prevent: if taken early, in fact, it is possible to treat it effectively, avoiding more serious complications.
This disease it is generated by the formation of a blood clot in a blood vessel, called thrombus, which hinders internal circulation and causes organ death (ischemic necrosis). It is also possible for the thrombus to fragment into smaller parts, thus reaching any organ in the human body. Needless to say, the damage in this case can be very heavy, such as for example myocardial infarction or pulmonary embolism.
And by what signals do we notice it? The alarm bells can be the increase in volume, sensation of warmth, numbness and redness of the affected area or limb. Moreover, blood clots form more easily in the legs. In short, regardless of age and your physical condition, remember that health is the most precious asset and must be preserved.