You've got the high performance running shoes, the right clothes and a programme that's going to get you to your goals. But have you really thought of everything? A good sports bra is as essential a piece of equipment as a good pair of shoes.
Painful breasts and embarrassment have been cited as the number one reason developing girls give up impact sports such as running. According to the Shock Absorber Sports Institute (SASI), 73% of women who exercise do not wear a supportive sports bra.
So what's so important about wearing the right bra? The female breast is composed primarily of glandular tissue, fat and delicate ligaments. Any excessive movement as occurs in running puts strain on these ligaments and once they are stretched...they are stretched. In the long term this means sagging. Even small breasted women suffer. SASI testing shows breast movement on average was 40mm away from resting in women with 34A's. Their tests also showed a reduction of movement by up to 74% when women wore a supportive sports bra.
If the thought of others watching their bouncing breasts doesn't stop a female from exercising, it certainly affects their form. Self-conscience women or women in pain will curl their shoulders in, tuck their arms into their sides, bring their shoulders up and tuck their heads forward. All of this physical adjustment leads to a change in biomechanical function and has been linked to lower leg injuries such as shin pain, Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis. If the link isn't clear, when you change the way one body part moves, it alters the entire biomechanical chain.
Your everyday bra will reduce bounce by 38% but a supportive sports bra will reduce bounce by 74%. If you want to see what this looks like check out
http://www.shockabsorber.co.uk/bounceometer/shock.html, put in your cup size and activity level, remember to switch views and see the movement from the side. Now that you're convinced look for a sports bra that is comfortable, stays in place and doesn't dig in anywhere. Support comes from compression, encapsulation, stabilizers in the shoulder straps and the width of the chest band. The properties you need in your bra will depend on your breast size and activity level. When trying them on; do the bounce test by jumping up and down to check movement.
For most women, once they find a good bra they hate to give it up and will wear it until it falls off, causes chaffing or they have to double up wearing two at a time. Anecdotal reports even have women providing extra support to their dying bras by enhancing with duct tape! So how often should you replace your sports bra? It is dependent on how often you wear it and therefore wash it, but like your high performance footwear it should be replaced every 6 months for optimum performance and support. If a supportive bra pays off with more comfortable activity and possibly a reduction in chronic injuries, it's well worth the investment.
