Experts say women are damaging their breasts by wearing the wrong bra

Jul 28 2008

Experts suggest that women could be damaging their breasts by wearing the wrong type of bra and some women cause breast pain or discomfort by not buying the right-sized bra.

A breast biomechanics research team from the University of Portsmouth say women may be doing the damage without realising it as a result of ignorance or embarrassment.

They say these factors could be causing women to choose the wrong type of support leading to fragile ligaments becoming irreparably stretched.

The researchers from the university's Department of Sports Science have tested about 50 bra designs on hundreds of women during the past three years.

A New Zealand maker appealed to the Portsmouth team for advice on how to change their bra design so it could offer more protection during high impact sports.

The researchers tested the current design by measuring breast movement while the bra was being worn, and by asking women how they felt about the fit, shape, and design of the strap, underband, and other parts.

The research led by Dr. Joanna Scurr shows that breasts move up to 21cm (8.26 inches) during exercise and they move up and down, in and out and from side to side but most bras are designed to limit just vertical movement.

The researchers say many women prefer certain styles of bra and refuse to buy anything else and they found that with sports bras, many women will not buy a bra that resembles their everyday bra and does up at the back - they believe if it cannot be pulled over their heads it is not a real sports bra.

But many sports bras which are fastened at the back in the same way as a traditional bra, do an excellent job of supporting women's breasts.

The researchers say there is also a social stigma about certain sizes and many women do not 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.

They say many women are unaware that they are wearing a badly-fitting bra or are unknowingly wearing the wrong bra size because they are routinely being sold ill-fitting bras....they also forget that their shape and size can change and they might have to go through several changes in bra size over their lifetime, especially after breastfeeding and the menopause.

The team have helped to design a new style of sports bra for high impact sports for the New Zealand manufacturer as well as overhauling the design of their current high impact bra.

The researchers say this is the first time they have been involved in the design process of a new bra though they have tested many.

The new design is expected to soon to be on sale in Europe.