Archive for the 'Sports Bras' Category
Wearing The Wrong Size Bra May Damage Your Breasts
October 22, 2008
Did you know there is a woman scientist studying the science of breast bounce? Her name is Dr. Joanna Scurr at the University of Portmouth in the UK. I had the pleasure of meeting Joanna earlier this year when she and I shared a podcast on sports bras and breast bounce. My part of the podcast was sharing the fact that HerRoom.com provides a Bounce Test video on every sports bra that is branded as high impact. From viewing the videos, several on the market are not doing the job. Joanna shared that during high impact, our breasts move in a figure 8 movement up and down (as much as 8.25"), side to side, and also move in and out. Her research showed that no matter what your breast size, wearing a good sports bra in the correct size will reduce or reduce breast pain and diminish the strain on the Coopers ligaments, which help keep your breasts from sagging.
Recently, Dr. Scurr and her breast biomechanics research team have discovered through many interviews with women that embarrassment and/or ignorance are the key reasons for women choosing the wrong type of bra support.
Over a three year study, Scurr confirmed that women tend to purchase bras where the band is too large, and the cup size is too small. This has been the consensus of almost all the bra manufacturers I have spoken with as well. Wearing the wrong size during aerobic activity reduces a woman’s breast support and increases her breast discomfort due to excessive movement. Thus women’s breasts will stretch and sag if not in the proper size sports bra. Adding to this incorrect sizing are women’s false perceptions about what breast size they want to be. Rather than finding the right size, women stick with a size that they feel is socially acceptable. This, of course, is absolute nonsense because no one knows what bra size you are wearing, and the right size will probably make you look thinner and more youthful.
Another interesting point made by Scurr is that women experience breast pain more during acceleration and deceleration of the breasts. So, once a woman is in the zone running for example, consistent breast movement is not as painful as when she starting to run or beginning to slow down. I absolutely agree with this finding because I personally feel more breast pain when doing aerobic activity that is not a consistent repetitive movement.
Women also seem to have some built-in predjudices when it comes to selecting bras for sports activity. Joanna’s team found that many of their interviewees have a stong preference for a certain style of sports bra, and would not consider buying a different style if it deviated from what they thought represented a supportive sports bra. Specifically, many women feel that a sports bra must be one that pulls on over their head and not have a back or front closure. If the sports bra resembles the look of an everyday bra, most women feel its not truly a sports bra. Of course, this is absolutely false. There are many sports bras with openings that provide fabulous support during high impact activity. Just look at the Bounce Test to see this point.
Perhaps the UK is really ahead of the US in this area. Last year, a British Medical Association Conference made a recommendation that a free bra fitting be offered during a physical exam. It is felt that if women are properly fitted, there would be a decrease in the number of unnecessary breast reductions.
Find Sports Bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Sport Underwear
Posted by Jan at 10:05am
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Booze and Boobs – The New WineRack Bra
August 28, 2008
I saw this today and had to blog about it. We’ve all seen those silly hats where you put beer on each side and the wearer has siphon-like hoses leading to his mouth. Well, this same idea now has been incorporated into a bra form. The website, firebox.com is selling this sports-bra looking item under the oh-so ridiculous name of ‘The WineRack.’
Clearly invented by a man, the WineRack comes in two sizes – small and medium. It consists of an almost no-shape sports bra with a removable dual bladder made of polyurethane that slips inside the bra frame and has a hose attached. The claim is that once the bladder is filled, a woman’s cup size will increase two full sizes. So if you start at a C cup, wearing a filled up WineRack will have you walking around looking like you have a DD rack… hence the name. The wearer also now has a portable cocktail station on her chest where she can pass around the hose and simultaneously deflate her breast projection. See what I mean? Clearly, invented by a man.
The practical side to all of this is that this device allows a woman to bring a drink into places where it’s not allowed or must be paid for. For example, church, concerts, sporting events and Disneyland.
Selling for just $29.95, it will probably pay for itself with one wearing given the over-charging of drinks at entertainment venues these days. But the two sizes are not explained, and the bladder is easy to see. A shirt or something needs to be worn on top. And forget about support.
All in all, I think this gadget is more for the benefit of men than the beautifying of women.
Find actual sports bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Sport Underwear
Posted by Tomima at 10:05am
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How Much is Too Much Breast Bounce?
April 29, 2008
All parts of our body bounce as we walk around and do everyday chores. But, when it comes to doing impact aerobic workout, we really want to contain the bounce of our breasts for comfort and well as to keep them from becoming pendulous and sagging. So, do we need to bind our breasts and prevent any movement, or can we let some breast movement occur?
I put this question to Dr. Joanna Scurr. Dr. Scurr is the lone researcher of breast bounce. Here were some of her comments.
First, we need to understand that breasts are kept in place by the Coopers Ligament – not muscles. Once the ligament becomes stretched, your breast sag, and there is no way to reverse the sagging. A sports bra, or most bras for that matter, support one’s breasts to reduce breast movement. Even testing of breast movement on an everyday bra, says Scurr, showed that it reduced breast movement by 49% compared to not wearing any bra at all.
Dr. Scurr’s research also found that breasts just don’t move up and down, but from side to side and in and out. All this movement, if not supported will contribute to sagging breasts. So, though it would be nice to have a sports bra that provides no breast movement, the truth is, as long as you have a sports bra that reduces your breast bounce enough so that the movement is less than your normal breast hang, you are protected and no further sag damage can occur.
At HerRoom, we offer the Bounce Test videos on all our high impact sports bras. Some clearly don’t provide enough support, but many also show some breast movement. What been learned here is that some movement is fine, but just make sure the movement is less in the 3 directions than your breasts normally move. This way, you won’t be stretching any of the breast’s ligaments or tendons during impact workouts.
Posted by Tomima at 11:04am
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