The effect of the sports bra on ventilatory function
Item
- Title
- The effect of the sports bra on ventilatory function
- Author(s)
- McLeod Natasha
- Abstract
- A well fitted sports bra should aim to limit the displacement of breast tissue during physical activity whilst maintaining optimal respiration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the sports bra on chest expansion and lung function at rest and respiratory data during exercise. The study was a cross-over design with 19 healthy female subjects. Chest diameter was measured with a tape measure during maximal inspiration and expiration with sports bra on and off. Measurements weremade at the level of the axillar, xiphoid and rib 10. Two 8-minute steady-state exercise tests (at a workload set to achieve approximately 85% maximum heart rate) were performed either unrestricted or in the presence of a sports bra. Ventilatory variables (minute ventilation, tidal volume and breath frequency) were obtained breath by breath as well as visual analogue scale measurements of breast discomfort on both exercise tests. Lung function tests were completed before and after both steady state tests to assess changes in forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in one second, peak expiratory flow rate and peak inspiratory flow rate. Results showed that the sports bra did not had no significant overall effect on chest size or lung function during breathing at rest (p>0.05). There was also no significant effect of the sports bra on respiratory volumes (p>0.05) during steady state exercise. It was also found that wearing a sports bra significantly reduced breast discomfort whilst exercising compared to wearing no bra (p<0.01). This suggests that the sports bra offered enough breast support to limit movement whilst performing exercise on a cycle ergometer, although this support was not at the expense of compromising respiratory data.
- presented at
- British College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Date Accepted
- 2002
- Date Submitted
- 1.11.2003 00:00:00
- Type
- undergraduate_project
- Language
- English
- Number of pages
- 91
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 13011
- Inst-Identifier
- 1076
- Keywords
- Brassiere,Respiration,Sports
- Recommended
- 1
- Item sets
- Thesis
McLeod Natasha, “The effect of the sports bra on ventilatory function”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 4, 2025, https://www.osteopathicresearch.org/s/orw/item/1327