The right sports bra increases running performance by up to 7% – breaking latest news

A performance sports bra can increase running performance by 7%. This is demonstrated by the new study by the Breast Biomechanics Research Center of the University of Memphis, published on Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. The research found that al increased breast support while running associated with a major knee joint stiffnessaltering the biomechanics of the lower body of women who run. Good support while running also means less oxygen consumption, allowing athletes a better range of motion.

Pain while running

According to estimates 72% of women experience breast pain while running. A well-designed sports bra protects against exercise-induced breast pain, which can be a significant obstacle to playing sports. From a recent study by the University of Portsmouth reported by The Times which involved around 2,000 British young people aged between 11 and 17, in fact it emerged that half of women avoid sport due to breast discomfort. The reason? The breast dances and hurts due to the stresses to which it is subjected to running. The result that a third of girls give up sports by the age of 12 due to embarrassment and discomfort.

Containment effect

So the easiest way to prevent young athletes from leaving the sport is to rely on a sports bra. As Dr. Philippa Kaye (who wrote the book entitled Breasts) explained to the Times, her breasts jump and bounce quite a lot: for example, in a vertical jump by spreading the arms, it can bounce up to 20 centimeters. For this the solution represented by sports bras. The difference between one model and another depends on the height of the top: each centimeter equals a decrease in rebound of 0.75%therefore the higher the front band is, the greater the containment effect will be.

How the study was carried out

We wanted to identify strategies to reduce activity-induced breast pain for women, a group that represents about 50% of the population explained the doctor Douglas Powell of the Breast Biomechanics Research Center of the University of Memphis. Specifically, Powell and his colleagues examined the influence of breast support on knee joint stiffness during treadmill running. Knee joint stiffness is a biomechanical measure that indicates the resistance of the knee joint to movement when a force is applied. Two different sports bras were fitted to a sample of 12 amateur runners, aged between 18 and 35, with a self-declared B, C or D cup: one with high support and one with low support. For the control condition, participants were asked to perform the experiment with a bare chest.

Each participant then performed three-minute running workouts in each of three randomized breast support conditions (top, bottom, nude/control). To collect the data, the researchers used a 10-camera motion capture system and an instrumented treadmill. The experiment proved that increased levels of breast support associated with increased stiffness in the knee joint due to less joint excursion. Compared with the control condition, the low and high support conditions were associated with a 2% and 5% increase in knee joint stiffness, respectively. The results show that A high support sports bra can improve a woman’s running performance by 7%. In the last 50 years, the evolution of bra design has been limited. Our results, together with previous research, demonstrate that sports bras should be considered not only as clothing items, but also as sports equipment that can improve performance and reduce the risk of injury, playing a role in women’s health ha declared Powell.