Reema Gehi, Mumbai
Mirror
If, like most women, you aren't
wearing your bra right, you could be inviting more harm than an ugly
decolletage
It's one of the most intimate pieces
of garments for women and has apparently been around since 2500 BC, yet studies
have revealed that most women don't know how to wear the bra right. But an
ill-fitting bra does more than spoil the look of the sexy outfit that you just
bought, as a 16-year-old from Bandra discovered.
The teenager, complaining of a severe,
constant, deep dull ache, travelling down her arm and extending to the back of
her head, consulted Dr Raashi Khatri-Panjabi, founder of The Centre for Orofacial
Pain India, Juhu and Kemps Corner. Various diagnostic tests were conducted and
after all other factors were eliminated it was found that the bras this girl
was wearing were to blame.
While Indian women have never been
known to understand how to wear this piece of lingerie well — Deekhsha Dadu,
co-founder of strapsandstrings.com, an online lingerie-selling portal, says
four out of five women who visit them wear the wrong size — a study conducted
in Australia found that more than 80 per cent of the women there didn't get it
right. Dr Khatri-Panjabi says, "Most women wear improperly fitted bras and
this is a major contributor to shoulder/arm complaints; tension across the
shoulders and neck, headaches, cervical spine problems and also lower back pain."
She adds that the ill-fitting, heavily
padded bra that her teenaged patient would pick up put undue pressure on her
trapezius muscles — a triangular muscle that extends from the base of the
skull, across the back of the neck, upper shoulders all the way down the back
to nearly the waist level. "The poorly-fitted bra can cause problems
ranging from a lower spinal pain to constant headaches," explains Dr
Khatri-Panjabi.
She points out that most women wear
ones that are unsuitable for the current needs of their body — the size and
shape of the breast is known to change at least five times in a lifetime — and
are ill-fitting. "In these cases, the positive effect of a bra on the body
and breast tissue is completely lost and, quite the reverse, it becomes a
potential health hazard," she adds.
Support
yourself well
Head of the orthopaedics department at
Parel's KEM Hospital, Dr Pradeep Bhosle says, "Tight straps contract the
muscles and affect blood circulation. Because of this, you may experience tension
across the shoulders and neck, headaches, cervical spine problems and back pain
in the lower spinal region."
But if you thought these troubles were
all that a tight bra could cause, there's more, Dr Mohan Thomas, the Medical
Director of Bandra's Cosmetic Surgery Institute, says, "Women who suffer
from acid reflux and heartburn should avoid tight bras, as they will aggravate
these conditions. Also, their breathing is constricted since their backs and
breasts are choked."
Colour
them right
It's not just the back, a wrong bra
can also give you skin problems, especially in the under-bust area.
Dermatologist Dr Manohar Sobhani says, "A tight-fitting push- up bra puts
pressure on your breasts, which causes red itchy bumps known as urticaria or
hives."
The colour needs to be carefully
chosen as well. Dr Sobhani says it's best to stick to pastel colours, as bright
hues tend to be dyed, which, when stuck to the body can cause rash.
"Synthetics fibres like nylon tend to cause fungal infection. Keeping our
hot and sultry climate in mind, it's best to stick to cotton bras." And a
last word from Dr Thomas for those who think a bra is meant to enhance the
cleavage: "Creating cleavages by using push-ups is like wearing stilettos,
which in the long run will cost you your health."
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