Let’s face it, a sports bra isn’t the most exciting cycling-related purchase you’ll ever make, but it’s one of the most essential. Not wearing a good sports bra for road cycling and mountain biking can overstretch the breast tissue, causing pain and, over time, your breasts to irreversibly sag.
- 10 steps to being a fitter, faster, better cyclist
- Women's road bike of the year
- 6 hardcore training sessions to take your cycling to the next level
There are no muscles in the breast and the only supporting structures are skin and a connective tissue called Cooper’s ligaments, which weave throughout the breast and attach to the chest wall. But as they're thin and elastic, they’re not very strong.
According to a study by the University of Portsmouth’s Research Group in Breast Health (RGBH) of women exercising without a bra, multi-directional movement (up-down, in-out and side-to side) increased from 4cm during walking to 15cm during running.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bikes and breasts
Increased breast motion isn’t only an issue for runners. While cycling doesn’t cause continual bouncing, according to Dr Joanna Scurr who leads the RGBH, the position you adopt on a bike and riding over uneven surfaces can present its own problems.
“On a bike, breasts hang more freely than during more upright activities,” she says. “This places a different demand on their natural supporting structures.
“Additionally, the vibration caused by uneven surfaces during cycling causes the bounce of the breast to be at a different frequency compared to other activities. It’s thought vibration frequency may be linked to breast pain or discomfort, so for some women the vibration frequency experienced during cycling may be more uncomfortable than that experienced during other activities.”
Types of bras
Perfect fit
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
via BikeRadar All the latest from BikeRadar.com http://ift.tt/1QXPXVO
No comments:
Post a Comment