Breast Pain when Exercising
New Research Finds Discomfort is Related to Speed of Breast Movement
Sports scientists in new study of over 100 women find that speed of breast movement rather than breast movement alone explains why breast pain occurs when exercising.
Breasts bounce 135 metres when a woman runs a mile. How fast breasts move could be the key to understanding breast pain when exercising, research presented this week suggests.
International expert Dr Joanna Scurr presents her latest findings on breast pain and exercise to the American College of Sports Medicine annual conference held this week in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Dr Scurr has found in her recent study that speed of breast movement rather than breast movement alone explains why breast pain occurs when exercising.
Breasts and Sports Bra Design
Over the past 5 to 10 years, sportswear research and technology has increased the choice of size, style, colour and fabric of bras for women who are exercising, in training and competition. Each individual athlete will have her own personal favorite and regimen about when to change or upgrade her sports bra.
Almost all sports bras currently on the market will mention the comfort and support to the athletic wearer. Previous research published in 2006 by Dr Scurr and the University of Portsmouth UK-based research team showed that as a woman runs a mile, her breasts bounce 135 metres. Running and other sports and exercise that women enjoy puts stress on the Cooper’s ligaments – the breast’s outer skin and connective tissue – as the 200 to 300 grams of each breast respond to moving when exercising. Exercising without adequate support by a quality sports bra will mean a woman’s breasts will gradually sag.
Speed of Breast Movement and Breast Pain
Support of a woman’s breasts when exercising remains important. What the latest study findings, presented by Dr Joanna Scurr at the American College of Sports Medicine annual conference this week, suggest is that the speed the breast moves offers a better explanation of the damage to breast tissue when exercising than the amount of movement alone.
Over 100 women took part in this latest study conducted in the Department of Biomechanics laboratories at the University of Portsmouth. Each research subject's breasts were studied running on a treadmill over a measured distance. With sensors attached to their breasts, Dr Scurr has collected pinpoint data tracking of how a woman’s breasts moved from side to side, up and down and in and out.
A runner and sufferer of breast pain, research leader Dr Scurr says “We discovered that the speed at which the breast moves changes during the running cycle. And we found that the subjects experienced the greatest degree of pain and discomfort during the points at which the breast was in the process of accelerating and decelerating”.
Breast Health and Sports Bra Design
Millions of women who experience breast pain when playing sports, exercising and running will need to watch out for the new sports bras to buy that can offer comfort and support to protect against sagging breasts plus adequate control for the speed of breast movement, now suggested to be a key to understanding why breast pain occurs in women.
