How to look after the ligaments in your breasts

Lots of busty women know that wearing a bra is less painful than not wearing one. If you've ever run downstairs with the girls flapping around you'll know the twinge behind each breast as they move about. Here is some information about what happens to our boobs when we move about and how you can protect the delicate ligaments.

Breasts don't have any muscle in them, they are held in place by two things, ligaments and skin. The ligaments (technical name Coopers Ligaments) stretch and contract to accommodate your movements. Your skin also stretches to allow for the force and impact of your movements. Unlike muscles, there is little you can do to alter your ligaments and skin elasticity. The changes our breasts experience is mostly dictated by genes.

So what can we do to protect our ligaments and skin? The answer is a balance of bras and NO bras. Surprising? I'll explain.

When you move about your breast tissue and skin moves too (the affect is tenfold when you're working out which is why you must wear a sports bra). A well-fitting bra protects your ligaments and skin from getting over-stretched. If you stretch them too far, they can't bounce back as effectively and this causes sagging. If you have large breasts and bend over without a bra the impact is proportionally greater than a woman with smaller boobs - the greater the mass, the greater the gravitational pull. So when you have a bigger bust you need to reduce the stretch factor more than your smaller breasted friends.

So how does not wearing a bra help? It's a case of use it or lose it. Your ligaments and skin need to be allowed to stretch and contract so that they remain active. If your ligaments aren't allowed to stretch and contract they can lose their ability to do so by becoming dormant. So it's a good idea to give your boobs some free-range time. There are lots of other reasons to go au natural (allowing your skin to breathe, reducing the risk of trapped sweat and relieving pressure around the wires) but exercising your ligaments is certainly a motivation to whip your bra off for part of every day.

All boobs, big and small, will sag over time, but you can prolong the perkiness of your girls by understanding them and dressing them properly for every occasion. If you have any questions about specific activities and the relevant bra, we're always happy to help. xx