Skinny Jeans Cause Tingling Thigh Syndrome

Fashion is a killer – this is precisely the kind of statement that we’d expect a critic to make, or even some eccentric designer that has his models walk in surreal shoes while dressed in shower curtains. Still, it’s the doctors who are saying it, as a new study comes to show that wearing skinny jeans can cause the tingling thigh syndrome, MSNBC informs.

According to the recently made public study, more and more women complain of weird sensations in their legs, but only after wearing too tight jeans. This happens, experts say, because the material applies considerable pressure and cuts off the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, which causes the numbing and tingling sensation throughout the thigh. The combination of tight jeans with high heels is all the more dangerous in this sense, since wearing heels forces the woman to push the pelvis forward and, thus, to apply more pressure on the nerve.

“The nerve, in some people, is susceptible to compression.” Dr. John England, a New Orleans neurologist and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, explains for the aforementioned media outlet. “It is a pure sensory nerve – it doesn’t go to muscles or provide strength. Anything that is tight around there could potentially compress the nerve that goes there.” Dr. England further explains, adding that the nerve runs “from the outside of the pelvis and through the thigh.”

It’s not only women who wear skinny jeans that are exposed to this rather unpleasant sensation, since it is an occupational hazard for construction workers and policemen, who usually have heavy belts hung around their waistline. Pregnant women and obese people also suffer from this syndrome, but it’s with women in tight jeans that the number of complaints with doctors has increased considerably in recent months.

The good news is, though, that the tingly and numbing sensation in the thigh is nothing permanent and there is no damage done in the long run. “Typically it’s not permanent. The key is, you remove the pressure, and the nerve regenerates.” Dr. William Madosky, a chiropractic physician in Richmond Heights, Mo., says for MSNBC. Still, women should perhaps try not to wear too tight jeans on a daily basis if they wish to avoid the discomfort of standing up from the chair and not feeling their legs, researchers conclude by saying.