Buy your daughter a sports bra!...

Research has shown that up to 56% of women experience breast discomfort whilst exercising. This is due to displacement of the breasts which many girls also find embarrassing. Breast motion is hard to reduce as the breasts are only held in place by the Cooper's ligaments and the skin. Stretching of the Cooper's ligaments, caused by movement during exercise, can lead to breast sag. This stretching is irreversible.

Research to date shows that the best way to reduce breast movement whilst exercising is to wear a properly fitting sports bra.

What does the breast consist of?

The breast is mainly composed of fatty tissue, the mammary glands and muscle (although the muscle is deep so cannot help much with breast support). The Cooper's ligaments are thin bands of ligament woven into the breasts. These help hold the breast up but aren't very strong. Repetitive bouncing can stretch the Cooper's ligament permanently.

Repetitive trauma injury

Constant movement and bouncing of the breasts can cause repetitive trauma injury. This results in pain and stretched ligaments. It does not only affect women with larger breasts but can occur in women with smaller breasts too.

Women with larger breasts can also experience strain in the upper back and neck when exercising. This is due to the extra weight at the front meaning the back muscles have to work harder to keep the shoulders in the correct position.

What can you do about it?

Wear a correctly fitting sports bra. This will provide support and prevent vertical and side-to-side movement. It is also important to maintain correct form whilst exercising, good posture with the shoulders back. A regular sports massage is a great way to relieve stress and tension in the upper back.

As you can see there are a few very good reasons to encourage a teenage girl to wear a sports bra whilst exercising:-

* to prevent irreversible stretching of the Cooper's ligament

* to prevent back and neck pain from exercising

* to prevent discomfort whilst exercising

* to prevent embarrassment of breast movement

A good sports bra will cost about £20 which is an investment many parents are reluctant to make when they don't think their daughter will continue to exercise. However, in my experience many teenage girls drop out of exercise because of the embarrassment they feel from "breast bounce".

I think it is an investment every parent should make for their teenage daughter and is essential as we strive to get our teenage girls more active.

Maggie Ayre is a Personal Trainer and Nutrition Adviser for Teenage Girls. Her goal is to get every teen girl active. Not only does fitness and good nutrition lead to a healthy body it also has been proven to increase self-confidence, self-esteem and even lead to better exam results!

Maggie's blog http://www.maggieayre.com offers advice and guidance for parents, teenage girls and fitness professionals.

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