You want a bra that pushes and lifts, but what about support? If you’re not wearing the right bra size, you’re not giving the ladies the right support they need to make you feel confident and stay healthy — and that can come with some nasty side effects.
- Dents in your shoulders You know those marks your bra straps leave when your bra’s too tight? Well, if you continue wearing a too-small bra, you risk its straps causing indentations in your shoulders that stick around.
- Skin abrasions Wearing a tight bra all day can really make you feel lousy. It’s also putting lots of strain on your skin. You might’ve noticed the marks you get on the skin underneath your boobs from doing this, but you can even get abrasions and redness from all the pressure that’s being placed on your skin every day.
- Pain in your boobs You really don’t want to have boob pain. Seriously. It sucks and can make you worry that something more serious is going on. You could experience anything from general achiness to a sharp pain in a particular part of your breast. It’s not worth it.
- Pain in your back Again, this is often caused by a bra that’s too small. It presses against your rib cage and shoulders, which ends up causing pain in your back. Ah, the struggles of being a woman with big boobs.
- Sore ribs All that pressure from a tight bra that’s pressing into your ribs can result in rib pain, and who wants that?
- Sagging This is a problem that can occur from wearing a bra that’s too big and loose. It doesn’t give your breasts the support they need, which can cause the fragile tissue of your breasts to stretch over time. The result? Premature boob sagging.
- Neck pain While back and boob pain might make sense, it might surprise you to learn that you can actually get neck pain from wearing the wrong bra size. The reason for this is because larger cup sizes have thicker straps so that the weight is spread across your shoulders. If you wear a tight bra that’s too small for you with incorrect support, this causes chafing but it also makes the strain from your shoulders go up to your neck.
- Bad posture If you have pain from wearing the wrong bra size, that could cause you to hunch over to counteract it. This can result in you having unhealthy posture that can lead to all sorts of other musculoskeletal pain and discomfort all over. Hunching over also makes you look like you’re unsure of yourself, which isn’t doing you any favors. Show the world you’re awesome by walking tall.
- Headaches Yup, this can really happen! If you’re having weird headaches lately and you can’t find the cause for them, perhaps your bra’s to blame. If your bra isn’t giving your chest support, then the muscles located in your upper body have to work much harder to compensate for that. Whenever your muscles are put under strain for a long time, this can affect surrounding muscles. So, when your back and neck are sore from an incorrectly fitting bra, it can cause headaches to occur. Eek.
- Breathlessness This is another symptom you really shouldn’t have to deal with. If you’re feeling breathless when engaging in movement or kicking butt at the gym, it could be that your bra is too tight. It sort of works in the same way as a tight corset because it restricts your chest movement and can make it harder to breathe comfortably. If you’re not getting enough oxygen, this can cause you to lack energy and it puts pressure on your muscles while also obstructs your workout. Once you take that bra off, you’ll feel so much freer, we promise!
- Stiffness It’s not just pain you have to worry about. Wearing a tight bra that restricts your movements can make your back muscles stiff. It also restricts your spine’s movements, not just those of your chest.
When in doubt, get fitted. You might be wearing the wrong bra size and not even realize it. Alarmingly, 80% of women wear the wrong bra size! To avoid the above side effects from wearing a too-tight or loose bra, go get yourself fitted so you don’t have to give yourself health problems from a bad bra. You’ll also feel so much more confident in it.
