This blog is mostly for females as we are more likely to immediately cross our legs at our knees the minute we sit down. The British Royalty have it right! I read that they have some kind of rule for their “royal” females to not cross their legs at their knees. Evidently it is OK to cross their ankles. Anyway, I had to laugh when I read that. Crossing your legs at your knees over time can cause Common Peroneal Nerve damage or “Crossed Leg Syndrome.” Unfortunately, I have it and have had it for so many years that the damage is evidently permanent. When I learned about this in Medical School, I immediately quit crossing my legs but the damage was done. The symptoms that I have include numbness of my lateral toes on both feet and weakness of extension of both big toes. You can test this on yourself quite easily and my advice is no matter what you find on yourself, you should never cross your legs at your knees again. Trust me, I know how hard this is. But I also know what can happen if you continue to do this. By the way, I don’t have a “gait” problem but that is probably because I stopped crossing my legs many, many years ago.
Thanks for listening. You might want to discuss this with your Doctor, especially if you think you have Crossed Leg Syndrome. Maybe it won’t be too late for you to have something done.
Wow! Not crossing legs. I just thought it was not being ladylike to do that..although have also been told not to cross them when you get your hair cut because it could end up be lopsided (your hair, not your legs). Great blog!