The biomechanical effects of cross-legged sitting on the lower limbs and the implications in rehabilitation

Background: While cross-legged-sitting (CLS) posture is widely practised in some communities, its biomechanical effect on the lower limbs is not clear. This study aimed to investigate whether CLS would affect biomechanical parameters in lower limbs during gait.

Methods: Thirty healthy volunteers participated in this study and performed CLS on ground for 20 min. Their modes of gait were compared before and after CLS regarding to temporospatial parameters and the kinetic and kinematic parameters in the lower limb joints.

Results: CLS significantly increased walking cadence and speed. In kinematics, the ranges of motion for almost all lower limb joints were increased after CLS except the knee in sagittal plane. In kinetics, the medial and lateral forces increased significantly after CLS in the lower limb joints, e.g., the hip posterior force was increased more than 14% on both sides. Furthermore, all hip, knee, and ankle powers were increased significantly after CLS.

Conclusion: CLS has a positive impact on the biomechanical parameters of almost all lower limb joints except the knee flexion/extension angle and internal/external joint moments. Therefore, CLS can be used in the daily routine and in any rehabilitation programme to improve the biomechanical parameters of the lower extremities.