Association of Prolonged Cross-Legged Sitting with Iliotibial Band Tightness Among University Students

B a c k g r o u n d : The human erect posture has been linked to the iliotibial band, also known as Maissiat's band.The ITB is a fibrous and tough fascial tissue that extends from the iliac crest to the lateral proximal tibia.Increased tension or stiffness in the iliotibial band is referred to as ITB tightness.Flexibility is a critical element needed for optimal musculoskeletal function.O b j e c t i v e : To investigate the association between prolonged cross-legged sitting with IT band tightness among university students.M e t h o d o l o g y : It was a cross-sectional study.Total 266 university students from The University of Lahore, aged 20-27 who regularly cross-legged were included through convenient sampling.The prolonged cross-legged sitting duration was set for about 1 hr.-5 hrs. a day.After getting ethical clearance from the University of Lahore's research and ethics council.A self-designed questionnaire, NRPS and Ober's test was utilized to find out ITB tightness and related pain and discomfort.Data was analyzed using SPSS version 26.Resu l t s : The results revealed that out of all participants, 16.9 % spend 1-2 hours, 26.7% spend 2-3 hours and 27.1% spend 3-4 hours, while 29.3% spend 4-5 hours seated cross-legged in a day.The Chi-square p-value of 0.077 indicates that there is no statistically significant association between the number of hours spent sitting crosslegged in university and the results of Ober's test.C o n c l u s i o n : In conclusion, the study shows that increasing iliotibial band tightness is not caused by prolonged periods of cross-legged sitting in university students.