An investigation into breast support and sports bra use in female runners of the 2012 London Marathon

Abstract

Although it is acknowledged that appropriate breast support during exercise is important, no published literature has assessed breast support usage in a cohort of female marathon runners. This study aimed to identify sport bra use and perceived importance of sports bra use in female marathon runners. Bra satisfaction, incidence of bra related issues and factors that influence the appropriateness of sports bras were also investigated. A 4-part, 30-question survey was administered to 1397 female runners at the 2012 London marathon registration and via an online survey. In total 1285 surveys were completed. Sports bra use and its perceived importance was high, however was lower in moderate compared to vigorous activity, and lower in participants with smaller breasts. Seventy-five per cent of participants reported bra fit issues. The most common issues were chaffing and shoulder straps digging in, with a higher incidence of issues reported by participants with larger breasts. Use of professional bra fitting was low, and perceived knowledge of breast health was poor. Engagement with sports bra use is high although sports bra design could be improved to alleviate bra fit issues experienced by female runners. Educational initiatives are needed to ensure females are informed regarding the importance of breast support and appropriate bra fit during activity.

Breast education for schoolgirls; why, what, when, and how?

“…The majority of schoolgirls wanted to know more about breast pain (57%) and sag (57%) and this was significantly higher among larger‐breasted girls. Both of these issues are exacerbated by breast bounce, which was commonly reported as a concern (44%). Despite the benefits of appropriate support in reducing pain, bounce, and sag, women do not always wear appropriately fitted bras, which may compromise the bra's function.…”

“…Descriptive statistics and Chi‐squared tests with pairwise post hoc analysis (SPSS version 21; IBM Predictive Analytic Software, Armonk, NY) explored differences in schoolgirls breast concerns and what they wanted to know more about, across age and breast size. Schoolgirls were categorized as smaller (A to C cup) or larger (≥D cup) breasted, and girls aged 17 and 18 years were amalgamated to meet chi‐squared assumptions.…”

“…Schoolgirls were categorized as smaller (A to C cup) or larger (≥D cup) breasted, 17 and girls aged 17 and 18 years were amalgamated to meet chi-squared assumptions.…”

“…The majority of schoolgirls wanted to know more about breast pain (57%) and sag (57%) and this was significantly higher among larger-breasted girls. Both of these issues are exacerbated by breast bounce, 17 which was commonly reported as a concern (44%).…”

Hábitos De Uso Do Sutiã No Apl De Confecções E Suas Implicações Na Satisfação

“…Apontadas por alguns estudos como resultantes do ajuste inadequado; do emprego incorreto de materiais; da priorização estética; do suporte limitado (PECHTER, 1998;ZHENG, YU, FAN, 2007;BROWN et. al.…”