If you need to carry out a task that involves lots of squatting, do not wear skinny jeans, doctors have advised.

They have found that squatting in this type of clothing for long periods of time may damage muscle and nerve fibres in the legs.

Writing in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, they described the case of a 35-year-old women who attended hospital suffering with severe weakness in her ankles.

She explained that the day before, she had been helping a relative to move house and this had involved lots of squatting while emptying cupboards.

The woman said she had been wearing skinny jeans and that these had felt increasingly tight and uncomfortable throughout the day.

In the evening, her feet felt numb and she found it hard to walk. As a result, she tripped and fell and could not get up. She was found several hours later lying on the floor where she had fallen.

At this point, her calves were so swollen, the jeans had to be cut off her. She had lost feeling in her calves and feet and she could not move her ankles or toes properly.

The doctors believe that she was suffering from damaged muscle and nerve fibres in her lower legs as a result of prolonged compression while she was in a squatting position. The skinny jeans had made this worse.

In fact, they had led to the development of compartment syndrome, which refers to a reduced blood supply to the leg muscles, caused by swelling of the muscles and compression of the adjacent nerves.

The patient required an intravenous drip, but after four days, she could walk again unaided and was discharged from hospital.