By compressing your breasts, sports bra can offer support. But such compression may have other … [+]
If you find yourself wearing sports bras all the time, this TikTok story from @.kellyhaze didn’t exactly support such a habit. In fact, in a video that came with the label “PSA to all the ladies addicted to wearing a sports bra,” @.kellyhaze warned about how your sports bra could become a bit of a booby trap, so to speak.
In the video, she how she had a habit of wearing sports bras practically “all the time” because “I have big boobs and I how the compression is on them.” But eventually that led to a bit of a bumpy ride as she related, “I had to go get an ultrasound on my breast because they found a lump and luckily nothing happened,” as you can see here:
From TikTok
Fortunately, the lump didn’t turn out to be something more serious like cancer, as @.kellyhaze indicated. However, she did add in the video, “If you wear your sports bra all the time you need to stop.” Note that she said stop wearing such bras all the time and not stop wearing them entirely.
What did the sports bra have to do with this lump? In the words of @.kellyhaze on the TikTok video, “The booby doctor said that fluid can get stuck in here from your lymph nodes,” while gesturing to her breasts. She added, “When you have compression on them all the time it gets like extra fluid because it can’t go anywhere.” In this case, “them” referred to breasts, if you haven’t figure that out already.
The “booby doctor” was right. Such a fluid situation can happen. Various lymphatic vessels run through your breasts like a network of soft, flexible hoses carrying a colorless fluid called lymph. The word “lymph” rhymes with “nymph”, “wood nymph”, “sea nymph”, “water nymph”, and, well, “lymph.” Compressing these lymphatic vessels can pinch them off, which, in turn, can prevent the proper flow of lymph, allowing the fluid to accumulate in an area. It’s analogous to stepping on a hose through which water is flowing. This resulting pocket of fluid could then feel like a lump, which again can masquerade as something more serious. An accumulation of lymph in and of itself is not a good thing either as such a accumulation can lead to inflammation or get infected.
You may not think about your lymphatic system every day. People don’t tend to compliment each other on their lymphatic systems or post about their lymphatic systems on LinkedIn or a dating website. But your lymphatic system does a lot of work for you behind the scenes. Your lymphatic system is a network of tissues, vessels and various organs that run far beyond your chest area as the following illustration demonstrates:
(Illustration: Getty)
As you can see, the distribution of your lymphatic vessels is kind of similar to the distribution of your blood vessels. That’s because your blood vessels and lymphatic vessels form dynamic duos, sort of like Batman and Robin, Han Solo and Chewbacca from the Star Wars movies, or Jess and Cece in the TV show New Girl. When blood flows from your arteries into your tiny blood vessels throughout your body like your capillaries, about 85% of that blood plasma—meaning the fluid part of the blood—stays inside the blood vessels and then returns back to your heart via your veins. The remaining 15% or so, which amounts to about three liters a day, seeps from the capillaries into the surrounding tissue. If all of this fluid were to remain in your tissues, you’d soon look like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man or Woman. Therefore, you need your lymphatic system to collect this excess plasma fluid, which assumes the name lymph once it’s entered the lymphatic system, and returns this lymph back to your bloodstream.
But maintaining such fluid balance isn’t the only thing that your lymphatic system does. Since lymph can sweep up waste products and abnormal cells in your tissue along the way, the lymphatic system acts a bit like a sewage system for your body. To further enhance this sewage treatment function, your lymphatic system produces, releases, and transports various types of immune cells such as white blood cells to combat bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, and anything else that happens to invade your body. A lot of this immune cell production occurs in your lymph nodes, which are part of your lymphatic system network. That’s why your lymph nodes can swell up when you have an infection or some other inflammation is present.
So how do your strike the balance between the following pair of concerns: providing enough support for your breasts during the day versus not choking off the flow of your lymph? Well, one thing you can do is keep “abreast” of how long you are wearing your sports bra at a given time. When you think of any of your body parts, think of the Queen song “I Want To Break Free.” Unless your doctor has recommended doing so, it’s rarely good to keep any of your body parts tightly compressed all of the time. Treat your sports bra as you would any other tight, tight garment. As @.kellyhaze mentioned, take your sports bra off frequently to give that area of your body time to relax. Of course, you should wait for an opportune time to do so. Taking off clothing in the middle of a job interview or giving a TED Talk could be problematic.
You can also do various things to get your lymph moving. When it comes to your lymph, think of the lyrics “I like to move it, move it.” One way that @.kellyhaze suggested by way of her “Booby Doctor” is to flick your own breasts. She pointed out on the video, “This is the boob I have issues with,” and demonstrated, “Put your arm up here and lightly flick it, obviously with nothing on,” as you can see here:
From TikTok
Do such flicking lightly as you don’t want to smack yourself silly. You can also gently massage your breasts. Another way offered by @.kellyhaze, while she leaned forward to demonstrate, is to “bend over and basically shake you [bleepies] to help with all the fluid.” Instead of “bleepies,” she used a word that rhymes with “cities.”
Another thing to do is to make sure that the size of your sports bra matches your body. Don’t wear something that may be too tight. If you can’t fit two fingers under the sports bra, it’s likely too tight. If you find yourself not being able to exhale, it’s likely too tight. If you can’t seem to talk without sounding like you are two octaves above your normal vocal range, your sports bra could be too tight. If your sports bra leaves deep impressions in your skin, it could be too tight. Certainly if any pain is involved, consider getting a differently-sized sports bra.
In general, it’s a good idea to pay attention and listen to your body. Of course, not every lump in your body is going to be problematic. For example, your breasts may feel more swollen and lumpy before or during your menstrual periods. So, as they say, you have to take your lumps in life. The key is to understand how your body may change from day to day and why. When I reached out to @.kellyhaze, this is what the life coach living in Colorado urged, “Also, listen to your body when it is telling you something is wrong. I was ignoring my pain and luckily it was something that was easily fixed and it was done before something worse developed.”
She also emphasized the need to “get a good trusted doctor.” She recalled, “I went to see the OBGYN for a routine annual exam. After years of trial and error I found a doctor that I feel comfortable with and that I trust. In the exam she also did a breast exam and I had forgotten about the pain I was consistently feeling in my left breast.” She added, “It was uncomfortable to sleep on my back because it would intensify the pain. I was already wearing my sports bra all day and this led to me wearing it all night as well. Luckily, she identified the lump and recommended that I go get an ultrasound.” In other words, it’s a good idea to have a good “booby doctor.” And a doctor who is a good heady doctor, a good tummy doctor, a good butty doctor, a good leggie doctor, and well you get the point.
Again, this doesn’t meant that you should ditch wearing sports bras. When it comes to anything, whether its wearing sports bras, watching Ted Lasso, using the word “dope”, or eating broccoli, life is about moderation.
