Women in services need more support
Women soldiers and sailors are going into battle without the right equipment – a firm bra.
More than half of servicewomen experience breast pain when exercising because they are not issued with sports bras.
The lack of adequate support can also lead to back pain, shoulder pain and sagging breasts which can only be corrected by surgery.
The revelation is based on new research by University of Portsmouth scientist Joanna Scurr which has estimated between 45 to 60 per cent of women in the general population experience breast pain when exercising.
Dr Scurr said she and her team are in talks with military authorities about the overlooked problem.
The sports biomechanist said: 'We don't have specific figures on military personnel but that general population figure can be applied across many different groups.
'Clothing for women military personnel is just men's clothing made smaller for women. There's no guidelines or rules on the type of breast support needed.
'We would like to establish military-issued bras that would be task-specific because walking and running creates different breast movement to jumping or horse riding. It's something we've brought to the attention of the military but we haven't started the project yet.'
Dr Scurr's two-year study measured movement in the breasts of 70 women with cup sizes from A to JJ – six sizes bigger than glamour model Jordan's cup size of F.
Her research revealed breasts bounce further during exercise than previously thought and they move as much during slow jogging as they do at sprint speed.
But even though wearing sports bras is more successful than medication in reducing breast pain, the vast majority of women don't wear them.
Dr Scurr said: 'It's partly to do with education as a lot of women don't realise the importance of breast support and the long term damage they're doing to themselves.
'Sports bras can be seen as ugly or scaffolding type even though now they're more aesthetically pleasing.
'Wearing a sports bra is such a simple solution but it's about getting that message across.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Thursday 24 May 2012
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