LEANING-STANDING ON ONE LEG HABIT

Leaning on one leg while standing

Today we are going to explore why people lean on one leg while standing.

Ofcourse most people around you lean on one leg and you could have noticed that in yourself also. Are you worried or just wondering why we do so? Here's what the mystery about standing or leaning on one leg says:-

What happens when i lean on leg?

The exact body changes when you lean are complex. You shift your weight to one side, say right. When you do so, you shift you weight on the right leg which locks the right knee (also called locking of knee joint). This allows less usage of muscles of your right leg. Following this, your left knee will bend and rotate inward to balance this shift. This further results in shortening of muscles of your left leg. The muscles most commonly involved are sartorius and rectus femoris.
Finally, because you have just shortened your left leg, allowing muscles of right muscles to relax, the hip (or pelvis to be precise) will get pulled forward.

Confused? Stand up and try yourself to see what happens.

Is this related to any disease?

Leaning on leg is more of a postural bad habit. You can relate it to Obsessive Compulsive Disroder sometimes. Rarely, it can be associated with what medicos call Short Functional Leg Syndrome. But since most people do it, they probably shouldn't have a disease, right?

What will happen if i continue to lean on one leg?

The answer is quite obvious as explained from mechanism of knee locking. Since you are putting your weight on one leg,allowing it to rest and letting other do the work, you are playing with the normal gravity control system of your body. This will obviously result in back pain and knee pain in long term.

What can i do to fix this habit?

The best practice is to making another habit, a habit of not doing it. Sitting for 2 minutes after standing for long can also help to signal your body to not lock your knees. Relaxing is the best way, one can try out stretching body abit to fix this postural error.
At end, remember it's your body, the way you define it is upto you. You don't want this leaning pattern to develop to your walking pattern also.

We often do this even without thinking, not a big deal, but the minor of things make a difference in long run.