Tip 23 Leg Crossing

StrongPosture® Tip 23: Sitting Habits

Working towards symmetry

The 31 Days to Stronger Posture started with taking your posture picture.  A common question people ask when first seeing their posture assessment results is, “why is my pelvis twisted?”

One common reason… sitting on your foot.

More often then not, people sit on the same foot all the time. The twisting of the hips (aka pelvic asymmetry) from sitting with one foot tucked under can show up in unbalanced sitting, standing and moving.  In other words, weak posture, which in turn weakens overall body mechanics, over time causing pain and breakdown (i.e. Arthritis /Degenerative Joint Disease) in the spine and other joints from daily wear and tear.

Crossing your legs

While it’s not stressing mechanics quite as much, many of the same issues can occur when someone always crosses the same direction when crossing their legs.

Plus, a pelvic asymmetry can cause a distortion in the spine and compress delicate nerves. The nerves which control your lower extremities begin in the low back and lower spine which is why low back posture problems are a common cause of pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness traveling down the lower extremity into your thigh, leg or even into your foot.

Even if there is no pain, your internal awareness of your body (and your proprioception) adapts to the overarching imperative of balancing the body, and your posture shifts to accommodate muscle and joints that have been retrained to feel a new “normal”.

Change your position throughout the day. Try to spend more time with your feet planted on the floor in front of you while sitting tall.  When you find yourself sitting with crossed legs, try crossing them in the other direction. The key is moving both sides of your body towards symmetry.