Wrong bra choice 'damages breasts'
Unsupportive sports bras can damage breasts
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Friday, 25, Jul 2008 09:09
Wearing the wrong bra could damage women's breasts, biomechanics experts based in the UK have warned.
The team at the University of Portsmouth found that breasts could be damaged and fragile ligaments irreparably stretched by wearing the wrong bras.
Ignorance and embarrassment were listed as some of the reasons behind wrong bra choice.
The researchers tested about 50 bra designs on hundreds of women over the past three years.
They found that breasts move up to 21cm during exercise and that they move up and down in and out and from side to side.
But most bras are designed to limit just vertical movement.
"Some women cause breast pain or discomfort by not buying the right sized bra," said breast biomechanics researcher Wendy Hedger.
"There's a social stigma about certain sizes; many women don't want to be seen as too small or too big and buy a bra that doesn't fit well in order to be what they consider to be a normal size.
"Many other women are unaware that they are wearing a badly fitting bra or unknowingly wear the wrong bra size because they are routinely being sold ill-fitting bras."
Ms Hedger said women can cause damage to their breasts when exercising by choosing a sports bra based on what they think it should look like.
"In sports bras many women won't buy a bra that resembles their everyday bra and does up at the back – they think if it can't be pulled over their heads like a crop top then it's not a real sports bra," she explained.
"But this is not true and many sports bras do up at the back in the same way as a traditional bra and do a very good job of supporting women."