Skinny jeans: fashion statement or health hazard?

Photo by pdsiamo / stochxchng.com

Skinny jeans; are they a new fashion statement or a health hazard? Well, first off, they of course are not a new fashion statement. Peg legs, stovepipes, drainpipes, skinnies, skinny jeans – they’ve been around since the 50’s, and have been part of American fashion in some form ever since.

If you don’t know what skinny jeans are I’d be surprised, but just in case today they are jeans that fit very tightly over the hip and all the way down the leg to the ankle. They come in both Capri length and full length. Some are so tight at the ankle, they require zippers in order to put them on and take them off. Most of today’s skinny jeans are worn much lower on the waist than in the past, and they have about 2% - 4% spandex woven in with the denim to allow for a tighter more flexible fit.

The problem? Doctors have associated skinny jeans to the condition, meralgia paresthetica or “tingling thigh syndrome”. That sounds pretty scary to me (I’ve never in my life wore skinny jeans), but I suppose men and women have suffered more than this for fashion. Meralgia Paresthetica is a numbness to the thigh (and in some cases the buttox) caused by pressure to the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. MSNBC.com reports, “Typically, sufferers of the nerve condition include construction workers or police officers with heavy, low-slung belts, pregnant women or obese people; it also can result from a pulled-tight seat belt in a car accident.” More and more however the condition is seen in our young people who wear skinny jeans every day. The issue is exacerbated by low belts and very high healed shoes (also very popular fashion trends).

As I said before however, we have seen people do some crazy things in the name of fashion; wrapping feet, cutting off little toes to fit the designer shoes are just a couple of drastic measures taken in the name of fashion. Wearing skinny jeans is nothing in comparison to this. In preparing this story, I found a website that sells the very popular neon colored skinny jeans and was surprised to find the motto; “So tight it hurts…”.

The good news? – this condition is not permanent. When the pressure is removed, the nerve will regenerate and everything will be back to normal. So, should we let our teens wear skinny jeans? Of course we should ... within reason. This nerve damage is not permanent, and many never even experience it. We as parents just need to be, as always, vigilant to the health of our children. If numbness starts – have the kids take a break from the jeans for a while. If however you are worried about this, there is the option of jeggings. Jeggings are a type of pant with more spandex and are more leggings then jeans, they are just made to look like jeans. Jeggings allow for the skinny jean fashion, without the discomfort of nerve damage.

 For more info: History of Skinny Jeans