25 y. o. male presents to your office with complaints of numbness in his left thigh. As he describes it to you he draws an oval on the lateral aspect of his upper thigh. He reports the pain as being burning in nature. He denies any loss of strength, and reports no recent trauma to the area. In fact, he was quick to tell you that he recently completed a 500 mile charity ride for his local motorcycle club without difficulty. On exam, there were no discrepancies in testing his muscle strength in his lower extremities. His patellar reflex was present. He had loss of discrimination to sharp/dull stimuli in the oval area that he has outlined on the lateral aspect of his upper left quadriceps. Required:
What is the mechanism of this patient’s deficit and what recommendations would you make to him to avoid this occurring in the future?