Get the right support!
Apr 21 2005 By The Journal
'I used to get back pain but now it has gone'
Sandra Eade always found it difficult to buy nice bras that were the right size.
The 30-year-old was measured at a high street shop and told she was a 34DD but she discovered, through trying on different bras, she was actually a 34F.
Sandra, a BT operations manager who lives with husband David, an IT manager in Jesmond, Newcastle, says: "It was a nightmare. 34DD sounds quite big but I thought 34F would be massive. You imagine Jordan-sized boobs but I swear she must be about an M-cup.
"I think a lot of women wear bras too small as they can't believe the size they are - these sizes aren't always as massive as they sound and if they are, it doesn't matter!
"I'd go all over looking for a decent-sized bra - you'd get horrible things like some kind of scaffolding. When you're in your early 20s you want to wear strappy tops. I'm size 12 but I'd end up wearing 16-18 tops and bikinis were a nightmare. Larger sizes would fit my bust but give no support.
"I don't have a self-confidence problem but it was a pain trawling round shops trying to find anything to fit, let alone something you'd feel attractive in. A lot of people don't know how to fit bras properly. I'd been fitted a number of times, often in different sizes. I was never sure what size I was.
"I got a Bravissimo catalogue and was delighted to see there were nice bras for women with bigger breasts. I couldn't wait until I could afford them; now I buy supportive, attractive bras and totally love them and how I look and feel in them.
"I used to get back pain but now it has gone which is fantastic."
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Health implications
If you are wearing an underwired bra it must fit correctly because the wire can cause health problems if it is incorrect. These include:
* Sagging and droopiness of the breast
* Headaches
* Poor circulation
* Pain in the neck, shoulder and back
* Improper drainage of the lymph nodes which can cause toxins to build in the body
* Back pain
* Potential breathing difficulties
* Discomfort around the breast
* Poor posture
* Abscesses
If you want to check your bra is correct, lean forward, with your arm back, and ask a friend to lift the underwire out from your body. If she finds it is sitting on breast tissue, your cup size is too small. Throw the bra away.
It is recommend that the following do not wear underwired bras, apart from possibly on rare special occasions:
* Teenagers with a growing bust, and pregnant or breast- feeding women. There is a danger that although they know their bust size is altering, they are not aware (until they actually experience pain) that their existing bra is starting to cause damage.
* All women during sport or strenuous exercise.
* Women with a mastectomy or mastitis.
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3-step check
Bravissimo three-step check for the perfect-fitting bra.
* The strap around your body should be firm but comfortable. When you stand side-on at a mirror, the strap that runs around your body should be horizontal and should not ride up at the back at all.
* The wires at the front should lie flat against your rib cage and should not dig in, rub or poke out at the front.
* Your breasts should be enclosed in the cups and you should have a smooth line where the fabric at the top of the cup ends and meets your bust. You shouldn't have any ridge or bulging over the top or sides of the cups, even if you are wearing a balconette style or lower cut shape.
