Brogan Jones leads the bra testing unit at the University of Portsmouth's Research Group in Breast Health. Established in 2005 by Professor Joanna Wakefield Scurr, affectionately known as the Bra Professor, this research group is globally recognized as the foremost authority in breast health and biomechanics. Brogan works closely with sports apparel and lingerie brands to test their bras within their breast biomechanics laboratory, including the Tigers Eye sports bra.
Keep reading to find out our results!
“Tigers Eye’s desire to work with the University of Portsmouth, to develop and test their product with us, shows their commitment and dedication to putting out the best possible product on the market, backed by science.” -Brogan Jones
Impact of Physical Activity on Breast Support:
During a recent interview, Brogan provided insights into some of the group’s research findings regarding the effects of physical activity on breast health support.
As Brogan presented, one study revealed that 85% of women encounter breast pain, with 72% of exercising women reporting such pain. This indicates that while exercise can contribute to discomfort, especially without adequate support from a sports bra, active women are less likely to experience pain from other sources than exercise itself. Prof. Joanna suggests that breast pain can be categorized into five types: cyclic, non-cyclic (persistent), extramammary breast pain, movement-related, and finally, pain caused by impact or injury, such as that experienced during sports.
In her interview, Brogan also explains that breasts themselves can be barriers to women taking part in physical activity, “especially young girls going through puberty”. In this study, results found that “I can’t find the right sports bra” and “I am embarrassed by excessive breast movement” were the most influential breast-related barriers to physical activity.
Another study by the Research Group found that wearing inadequate breast support can affect the way you move. Brogan mentions a shortening in stride length by 4cm (1.5 inches) when women aren’t wearing a supportive enough sports bra. This means that with less support, you are covering less ground, therefore, during a marathon, you could effectively run an extra mile. Additionally, the study noted an increase in muscle activity when women lack proper breast support, leading to quicker fatigue as their muscles work harder. Brogan also mentioned an increase in ground reaction forces heightening the risk of injury for active women.
Brogan advises active women, as well as women in the Military or first responders, to ensure they are wearing high-support sports bras that are also comfortable, to reduce their chances of injury and to improve their physical performance.
Physical Side Effects of Inadequate Sports Bra Support:
Brogan presented physical side effects women can experience by not wearing a supportive enough sports bra. These include back, neck, and shoulder pain and migraines. Some women even experience numbness in their fingertips from shoulder straps being too tight and causing nerve impingement.
Testing and Features of the Tigers Eye Sports Bra:
During laboratory testing, the movement of the breasts is measured forwards and backward, side to side, and up and down. Prof. Joanna Wakefield mentioned that based on their analysis, the breasts also move in a “wave” pattern, totaling to 7 directions of movement. In all directions, the Tigers Eye sports bra provided high support and reduced breast movement sufficiently.
“Some of the design aspects that make the Tigers Eye Sports Bra unique are that it includes both encapsulation and compression elements within its support method. It also includes a very innovative design called the Vault which will reduce up and down breast motion sufficiently during high-impact activity” - Brogan Jones
The Research Group has tested hundreds of different sports bras, many of which are already on the market. The Tigers Eye sports bra came out as a high performer, ranking #1 in both support and comfort compared to other brands. Furthermore, it has been proven to reduce 74% of breast movement during physical activity.
Benefits of Tigers Eye Sports Bra
Brogan mentions in her interview, that in terms of improving the lives of the wearer, these statistics mean that the Tigers Eye sports bra will not cause breast pain and women will be able to complete their activities in comfort without the distraction of breast movement. In terms of physical activity participation, Brogan believes this will help women continue to enjoy active lifestyles, including military careers, without the breasts being a barrier.
Importance of High-Support Sports Bras for Military Personnel:
The Tigers Eye sports bra was designed for endurance and high-impact activities with servicewomen in mind. Based on feedback from Veterans and Active-Duty military servicemembers, we added features such as padded shoulder straps to help banish shoulder pain and digging under heavy equipment. We asked Brogan to tell us about the importance of a good sports bra for Servicewomen. Here’s what she had to say:
“Those within the military will be taking part in lots of high-impact activities, so a high-support sports bra for them will be really important. Otherwise, there is the potential that they'll experience breast pain when they're doing those activities. They may also find that not wearing a high-support sports bra could affect their performance as well. In terms of muscle activities, they may fatigue quicker, there may be an increased risk of injury as well, and those actually first entering into the military, if they find they are experiencing excessive breast motion, it could actually deter them from continuing through, so they may find that the breast is actually a barrier to them continuing on into the forces.” - Brogan Jones
Watch Brogan’s full interview here.