Choose your bra carefully

Some women could be damaging their breasts without realising it, according to the breast biomechanics research team at the University of Portsmouth.

As well as discovering that some women's breasts could be damaged and fragile ligaments irreparably stretched by wearing the wrong bras, scientists in the Department of Sports Science have also found that women could be damaging their breasts through ignorance or embarrassment.

The research team has tested about 50 bra designs on hundreds of women over the past three years under the leadership of Dr Joanna Scurr, a breast biomechanics expert. Her research proves that breasts move up to 21cm during exercise and they move up and down, in and out and from side to side. Most bras are designed to limit just vertical movement.

According to another researchers on Scurr's team, women are often ignorant of what constitutes a good sports bra - believing that a sports bra must be pulled over the head rather than doing up at the back. Women also buy the wrong sized bra because they are worried about being thought too small or too big, and so wear a bra that doesn't fit well in order to conform to a 'normal size'.

The breast biomechanics research team started testing bras and the movement of women's breasts more than three years ago. They have also helped design a new sports bar for women who play high-impact sports. Dr Scurr agreed to help a New Zealand bra manufacturer give their existing high-impact bra a major overhaul and the new bra goes on sale in Europe this summer.