Is It Bad to Sit With Your Legs Crossed?

However, crossing your legs at the knees or having one ankle crossed over a knee for extended periods of time has been associated with temporary elevations in blood pressure, poor posture, and chronic musculoskeletal pain, says Max A. Fitzgerald, MD, an assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

It can pull your pelvis into a tilted position and, over time, potentially cause lower-back pain and even some misalignment in the spine. It can also lead to muscle tightness and pain.

Crossing your legs at the ankles is typically a little better than crossing them at your knees or having an ankle over a knee because it doesn’t cause as much pressure on the hips and pelvis, but it’s still not the most ideal sitting position, Fitzgerald says.

And if you have issues with your hips, sitting cross-legged could have further negative effects on your body. For instance, people who have hip osteoarthritis or femoroacetabular impingement, a condition in which the bones of a hip joint aren’t shaped properly, might experience joint compression, inflammation, and pain when sitting cross-legged, says Jennifer Heberton, PT, a physical therapist at Hospital for Special Surgery, a medical center focused on musculoskeletal health in New York City.