Is it bad to sit with one's legs crossed?

Question

As in - can it cause problems later on like varicose veins?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Short answer: No it's pretty harmless!

Circulation: crossing your legs only compresses a small circumference of the leg which your rather well designed body can easily cope with by diverting blood around

Varicose veins: Varicose veins develop due to progressive failure of valves in the veins. This process occurs due to the weight of blood upon them, which is maximal when standing, so sitting cross legged is fine.

Nerve injury: Dead legs sustained from prolonged cross-legged sitting are due to the nerves being short of blood flow over the compressed segment, it would need to be continuous firm pressure for over 2 hours to start to cause any permanent problems - and who sits for over two hours without adjusting their position? ....The answer is people who are drunk or smashed on drugs or collapsed with a medical problem, these can have prolonged compression on one part of the body (even lying still for a few hours) and kill off some of the compressed tissues (pressure sores) - but that is kind of shooting off-topic.

DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) - flow rates in the deep calf veins are inevitably reduced when sat cross legged, and reduction in the rate of blood flow is a risk faactor for blood clotting, but it is enormously unlikely to result in a DVT unless you have other major risk factors, especially as with frequent changes in position, the blood flow is frequently returned to full flow rates.

Source(s):

I'm a doctor

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

thanks

Answer 2

ive heard it can,cause varicose veins i mean

Answer 3

i don't think so..

Answer 4

I don't think it can cause varicose veins, but it does stifle the flow of blood in your legs (just a little) - nothing to really worry about.

Answer 5

may be if u sit that way for long long periods of time..

Answer 6

Yes, it is not healthy to set with your legs crossed

Answer 7

Don't think so

Answer 8

Yes it is it can cause nerve damage and vericose veins. Also it isn't good to have your legs dangling for long periods of time, sitting with your legs underneath you. I'm a stickler for "leg health"

Source(s):

lots of research

Answer 9

yeah it is a wrong posture to **** with legs crossed.
please dont do it.

Answer 10

According to wiki seems not to be a cause of varicose veins.
Here is the article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varicose_ve…

Prolonged standing however is a cause.

Answer 11

Depends how old you are, they say it can cause blood clots in later ages. At any age you can get cramp or a dead leg.

Answer 12

yes it is .

Answer 13

I strongly recommend sitting without your legs crossed. It will cause varicose veins if you're not careful. Bad circulation, arthiritus etc. All depends on the person, but bad posture doesn't help.

Answer 14

Yes as it stops your circulation.

Answer 15

if you are a girl it is a good thing to do if you are a guy bad thing to do...

Answer 16

Honey, If a guy told you that, he just wants the opportunity to look up your dress by not crossing your legs.

Answer 17

I doubt it.

Answer 18

Yes, it's bad for your circulation and can cause spider veins - those tiny little purplish thread-looking veins, mostly in your legs.
Once a vein has broken, that's it; there's no repairing it.

Answer 19

Sexy... standing up still causes more damage then that

Answer 20

Yes. I'm proof positive about it causing varicose veins. And besides it isn't very lady like.

Answer 21

i don't think so!

Answer 22

Crossing your legs decreased the circulation causing unnecessary stress on your blood vessels causing the walls to weaken and that does cause problems down the road.

Answer 23

For men it could be bad. In some South Sea Islands, at a bar, to cross ones legs the wrong direction means one does not want to be bothered by all those chicks.
Anyone know which is the correct way? I'm asking.