| Co-authors of Sports Bra Fitness Dr Bridget Munro (left), Deir... Co-authors of Sports Bra Fitness Dr Bridget Munro (left), Deirdre McGhee (centre right) and Professor Julie Steele (far right) with Sonya Jenkins ,Executive Officer of the NSW Sporting Injury Committee, which was a major sponsor of the booklet. | 
| Professor Julie Steele presents girls from Illawarra Sports High Scho... Professor Julie Steele presents girls from Illawarra Sports High School with copies of Sports Bra Fitness for their school library. |
New book takes pain out of choosing right bra
1 Jul 2008 | Kate McIlwain
Wearing the wrong bra during exercise can cause discomfort and pain, as well as affecting sports performance, meaning the right bra is an essential piece of sporting equipment for all women.
Despite this, a study conducted by the University of Wollongong (UOW) of 115 adolescent girls found 88% did not wear correctly fitted bras during sport and 85% failed a simple knowledge test on bras and bra fit.
To help women of all ages buy well-fitting bras, Breast Research Australia (BRA) at UOW’s Biomechanics Research Laboratory has developed Sports Bra Fitness. This booklet, written by Deirdre McGhee, Dr Bridget Munro and Professor Julie Steele from the Biomechanics Research Lab, has easy to follow information on how to choose the right bra to and how to tell if it fits correctly.
The booklet includes instructions and tables to calculate bra size, and provides a “Bounce-O-Meter” tool for women to measure the amount of bounce and breast discomfort they are likely to experience during sport.
“About 10 years of research has gone into the making of this book,” co-author and physiotherapist Deirdre McGhee said. “Poor breast support and poor bra fit has caused many of the health problems I have treated over the years.”
Sports Bra Fitness combines science and facts with fun diagrams and photographs to make finding a well-fitted bra easy. The information is not brand specific and caters for people with different breast size and exercise habits so that all women can exercise in comfort.
“This will allow women to independently buy a bra from anywhere they choose, in all budgets, and they won’t have to be fitted professionally,” McGhee said.
The success of the booklet has already been proved by an intervention on the group of girls who participated in the initial survey. Using the booklet improved their knowledge about bras and changed their bra wearing behaviour.
To continue educating women and improving bra wearing habits, the authors presented girls from two local high schools with copies of Sports Bra Fitness at the book launch.
Professor Julie Steele said that the booklet would play an important role, because breasts are an important part of the self image of adolescent girls and poor self image can be a barrier to physical activity in this age group.
“When you think about the issue of obesity, removing any discomfort associated with exercise is even more important,” Professor Steele said.
Along with UOW, Professor Steele said that many Illawarra organisations had contributed to the booklet. The NSW Sporting Injury Committee and the IMB Community Foundation were major sponsors, two athletes from the Illawarra Academy of Sport modelled for the photographs in the book and a local graphic designer and photographer worked to publish the book.
Copies of the book can be bought or ordered from the UniShop and profits will go towards further research funding.
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