Kimber said the woman was helping a relative move and spent the day squatting to help them clean.
"She noticed that her legs were becoming increasingly uncomfortable as the day went on [but] didn't really think much of it," Kimber said.
The woman didn't notice anything was wrong until she fell on the sidewalk and couldn't get up again.
"By this time it was dark and quite late at night, and she was unable to stand up again, and really was there for some time before she could crawl to the side of the road, hail a cab and bring herself to the Royal Adelaide Hospital," Kimber said.
The woman's legs were so swollen that hospital staff had to cut her jeans off of her body. She suffered severe muscle swelling and nerve compression and had to be treated with intravenous fluids.
According to a Kimber's report of the incident, which was published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, the patient suffered compartment syndrome -- when increased pressure to body parts, particularly the leg or forearm, leads to muscle or nerve damage.
"We believe it was the combination of the squatting and tight jeans that caused the problem," Kimber said in the report.
The woman was unable to walk for several days but eventually made a full recovery.
"The take home message I would like to leave people is if they are going to doing a lot of squatting ... wear something looser, with more elasticity perhaps," he added.
