The right sports bra: game changing!

Mary Brooking
Mar 27
5 min read

An appropriate and well fitted sports bra can make a huge difference to girls’ and women’s participation and performance in sport.

The impact of the right bra in elite sport can be profound. Millie Bright, the Chelsea and Lionesses defender recently gave an interview to Telegraph Sport saying “I’ve played with back pain and shoulder pain from wearing bras that are too tight. If I wore a bra that was too loose, my chest would hurt, and there is the risk of stretch marks. Because I had to wear two bras, I developed pain in my shoulders, neck and back.”

Bright wore two bras during the entirety of England’s victorious European Championship campaign in 2022 and when she captained the side to the World Cup final the following year. After finding a bra with an effective overband to reduce upward bounce, meaning she could stop wearing 2 bras, her shoulder pain disappeared in weeks.

It’s good news that sports bras are also increasingly being recognised across elite sport as an essential part of the female athlete’s kit. It’s not just Millie Bright, high levels of female athletes report experiencing breast pain which has affected their performance and an improvement in both comfort and performance after using a sports bra recommended by an individual bra fitting assessment.

But sports bras are just as important for every woman taking part in exercise. Many girls will stop participating in sport during their teenage years often identifying breast size and excessive breast movement as a barrier to exercise. A recent survey found only a third of girls aged 11-18 wear a sports bra in school PE lessons. A well-fitting sports bra can keep girls and women engaging in sports and exercise by reducing discomfort, pain and embarrassment.

Breast structure

The breast has limited internal supporting structures and are only supported by delicate ligaments known as Cooper’s ligaments and the skin. As such, when the body moves, the breast will move independently both up and down and side to side, moving in a figure of eight during running, which can be difficult to control.

The University of Portsmouth Breast Health Research Group has found that unsupported breasts can move up to 15 centimeters during exercise. A well-fitted sports bra can reduce this movement by up to 83%, thereby minimizing discomfort and potential tissue damage caused by repetitive movement.

Wearing a well-designed sports bra helps to:

Reduce excessive strain on Cooper’s ligaments
Prevent irreversible breast sagging
Decrease the risk of pain and discomfort associated with unsupported movement

How does lack of breast support impact performance?

Excessive breast movement has also been found to lead to a less efficient running technique and taking shorter strides. There is also evidence that breathing frequency is altered, with low support levels reducing how often you breathe.

The upper body has been reported to work harder during exercise when wearing low support, making you fatigue faster. And there is evidence that exercising in low breast support can increase your ground reaction forces, which is how heavily you land on the ground, increasing your risk of leg injury.

Different types of sports bra

Compression Bras: These bras press the breasts against the chest wall to restrict movement. They're typically pullover styles without cups and are best suited for smaller to medium-sized breasts (A to C cups) engaging in low to medium-impact activities like yoga or cycling.
Encapsulation Bras: Featuring individual cups for each breast, these bras provide support without compressing the breasts together. They're ideal for medium to large-sized breasts (B to DD cups) and are suitable for medium to high-impact activities such as running or aerobics.
Combination (Compression and Encapsulation) Bras: These bras combine both methods to offer maximum support, making them suitable for all breast sizes, especially larger breasts (D cups and above), during high-impact activities.

How to work out if a sports bra is a good fit for you

For a high-support sports bra, there are five characteristics to look for that have been linked to reduced breast movement. Encapsulation style, padded cups, nylon material and an adjustable underband are all desirable. High-support sports bras also tend to have a higher neckline – for every 1cm higher the neckline, breast bounce or upward movement is reduced by 1%.

The traditional method of bra fitting, using a tape measure to determine band and cup size from underbust and overbust measurements, has been shown to overestimate band and underestimate cup sizes.

It has been reported that most women are probably not wearing the correct bra size. It might be that you are a different size in different brands, so the best way to make sure you are wearing the correct bra size is to follow the best-fit criteria set out in this video from The University of Portsmouth Breast Health Research Group

and listed below.

https://vimeo.com/282459945

The underband should be level around the chest, not too tight, and should not slide around as you move.
Breasts should be enclosed within the cups, with no gaping or bulging. The centre of the bra should sit flat against the breast bone and not gape.
Straps shouldn’t be too tight and dig into your skin, nor should they have more than a 5cm stretch. The main support for the breasts should come from the underband, not the straps.
If the bra has an underwire, this should follow the natural crease of the breast and not rest on any breast tissue.
Compression only bras are suitable for smaller breast sizes, for larger breasts look for a sports bra with Encapsulation or combination bras (separates the breasts for individual support) to stop movement in all directions. Also think about your sport – higher impact sports need more support than lower impact sports. So running, gynmastics or tennis will need more support than rowing, yoga or cycling.
Comfort: Your bra should be comfortable, without rubbing, pinch or chafing anywhere, it also should not restrict your breathing. If you aren’t comfortable then you could be wearing the wrong size.

The Well HQ, who work to improve how women and girls are trained by changing the system around women in sports sets out some common mistakes when choosing a bra here:

Thinking tight means supportive – it doesn’t
Wearing 2 bras for sport – if you need 2 bras, you haven’t found the right sports bra. A sports bra that is the right style for your breast size and the activity you are doing, and fits well, will support any breast well enough to work alone.
Prioritising looks over function – a sports bra isn’t fashion apparel, it’s an important bit of kit that can impact your experience of, and performance in, sport and exercise. Just as we accept that shin guards, gum shields or bike helmets might not be our most fashionable look, we should also prioritise getting the right sports bra, rather than the prettiest one.
It costs a lot to have good breast support. It’s true that sports bras can be very expensive, but the first rule of sports bras is to get as good a fit as you can in the right style for your breast size and type of exercise. So, if you are shopping on the high street for an £8 bra, or you are looking at a more expensive brand, you will benefit equally from getting that fit right.