Skinny jeans can be a health hazard

June 24, 2015  11:45

Skinny jeans have become a fashion sensation in recent years, being sported by the Duchess of Cambridge and glamorous celebrities including Kiera Knightley, Sienna Miller and Nigella Lawson.

But now doctors have warned that wearing too-tight trousers could seriously damage your health.

Medics highlighted the unusual case of a 35-year-old woman who spent four days in hospital on a drip after her skinny jeans caused her to collapse in agony.

The woman lay on the ground for four hours before being rescued by paramedics, who had to cut the constricting trousers off her legs.

Doctors found the woman had suffered 'compartment syndrome', damage to her nerves and muscles in her calves caused by the tight jeans.

The damage weakened her ankles, making her unable to stand, and caused her calves to swell up, rendering it impossible to take off the trousers.

She had to spend four days in hospital on an intravenous drip before she was able to walk unaided again and was discharged.

The woman - who has not been named - had been helping a family member move house, and had been squatting 'for a protracted period of time' emptying cupboards while wearing the tight trousers.

The jeans became increasingly tight and uncomfortable as the day wore on.

Later in the evening she experienced numbness in her feet and found it difficult to walk.

She tripped and fell, and unable to get up spent several hours lying on the ground before she was found.

She could not move her ankles or toes and her lower legs and feet had gone numb. 

Doctors found the jeans had drastically reduced the blood supply to her leg muscles, causing swelling of the muscles and compression of the adjacent nerves.

The case is the first reported incidence of skinny jeans causing someone to be hospitalised from this cause – and is so unique that it was reported in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

Researchers from the Royal Adelaide Hospital noted: 'The present case represents a new neurological complication of wearing tight jeans.'

The research paper did not list the make of jeans. 

Previously skinny jeans have been linked to another condition called meralgia parasthetica – numbness caused by pressure on a nerve running from your pelvis to your thigh.

While it may not be dangerous on a one-off basis, repeated episodes can cause permanent damage to the nerves. 

Tight 'control pants' designed to hold in wobbling tums and thighs have also been accused of causing health dangers in the past. In men overly tight jeans can cause reproductive problems.

Skinny jeans have become enormously popular in the past decade, with everyone from mums on the school run, anarchist protesters to supermodels as well as with men. Male fans include the singer Harry Styles and comedian Russell Brand.

Among the enemies of the fashion trend are the terrorist group Islamic State, which reportedly imposed 10 days in jail as a punishment for any man wearing them.

The history of fashion has been littered with cases of 'fashion victims' – from overtight corsets in Victorian times causing women to swoon, to poorly fitted bras causing back problems.

Shoes that are too tight cause bunions, while high heels have been accused of causing damage to the leg muscles – and the risk of falling over.  

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter


 
  • Video
 
 
  • Event calendar
 
 
  • Archive