Two terrible effects of the habit of sitting cross-legged

I often have the habit of sitting cross-legged at work and my legs often go numb. I searched for information online and found that this posture is not good for the spine and joints. Please advise us on how office workers should sit to be good for our health and not harm our joints and eyes while working. Thank you, doctor. (Vo Thanh Thao, Go Vap, Ho Chi Minh City)

Doctor Pham Anh Ngan - University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, facility 3 answered:

The habit of sitting with legs crossed is common among women, due to the standards of noble beauty, appearing in pictures of Asian and European women throughout the ages. However, this sitting style has certain harmful effects on the body.

The first,Effects on the nervous system - blood vessels: Sitting with your legs crossed will cause the blood flow to change pressure, causing the nerves that are nourished by nearby blood vessels to also be affected. Sitting for a long time will cause the nerves to be compressed, causing symptoms of numbness, paresthesia or decreased sensation.

Sitting cross-legged is harmful to blood vessels and joints.

The pressure changes in the surrounding blood vessels also cause spider veins to form in the legs. Research has also shown that crossing your legs increases both systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 8-10mHg in patients with hypertension.

Monday, affects the musculoskeletal system: Sitting with legs crossed not only affects the weight-bearing knee joint and the cruciate ligament system, the lateral ligament of the knee joint also bears compressive force for a long time.

According to research, when we stand, the force is distributed evenly on both sides of the hip joint, and when we sit, the force is distributed evenly on both sides of the pelvis. If we sit cross-legged, the position of the pelvis changes, the pressure on the gluteal muscle groups also changes. This is also a cause of back pain due to sciatic nerve compression or piriformis syndrome.

In addition, the ligament system that holds the sacrum and pelvis is also stretched when the pelvis is tilted, which in the long term can break the natural curvature of the spine, affecting even the upper vertebrae.

The cross-legged sitting position should not be maintained for long periods of time. It is necessary to regularly change to a straight sitting position with legs stretched out to avoid harmful effects on the body.

To protect your bones and joints, when sitting at work you should choose a comfortable but correct posture. Place your feet on the ground at a 90 degree angle to the table surface. Knees should be level with the hips, avoid putting pressure on the chair surface, do not sit with one leg up.

You should keep your back straight and your neck slightly back. If the chair reclines deeply, you should add a pillow to reduce neck and shoulder fatigue. The forearms and arms must create a 90-degree angle to help limit pressure on the shoulders and wrists when sitting and working for long periods of time. The distance from the eyes to the computer screen is 50cm. Sitting upright also helps us maintain a balanced posture and avoid spinal diseases, especially in middle-aged and older people./.