Are Bras Healthy?

Natalie says: 'The bra is the ultimate symbol of modernity: progress; comfort and the avoidance of pain; perfection.'

Gail says: 'Classification, competition, assessment.'

Natalie writes a card for Dr B, quoting the words of Anthony Forge, Professor of Anthropology in the 1960s at the London School of Economics, about the bras achievement in 'converting the primitive droop into the civilised thrust.'

Bob [Roberta] says, 'The civilised thrust doesn't eradicate or diminish pain, Natalie.' She is speaking from experience -- a long history of fibrocystic breasts before she threw away her bra. 'It creates whole new types of pain, and then spreads it around differently. Relocates it somewhere else.'

She says: 'I mean, really, it's insane that so many women these days feel uncomfortable unless they're wearing this thing that leaves red welts and grooves on their bodies, damages delicate tissue, atrophies muscles and ligaments, often causes chronic back ache or debilitating breast pain and lumps, and by cutting off the normal lymphatic flow and allowing toxins to concentrate in breast tissue may well be a key factor in high breast cancer rates.'

[from a chapter of the novel called 'Cultural Tattoos']

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Notes, references, links:


(Tip: make sure you right click on these links and open them in a new tab or window, so you can come back here again.)

Regarding bras and backache, for instance, see letter from Dr Edward Ryan to the Medical Journal of Australia, November 1992, cited by Kaz Cooke in Real Gorgeous (Melb: Penguin, 1995) 97; and Ryan, E. L. 'Pectoral girdle myalgia in women: a 5-year study in a clinical setting.' Clinical Journal of Pain 2000 Dec;16(4):298-303.

In Dr Ryan's study women presenting to a clinic with muscular pain were invited to remove the weight of their breasts from their shoulders for a two week trial either by going bra-free or wearing a strapless bra (all except one chose the former). The results were that 'Seventy-nine percent of patients decided to remove breast weight from the shoulder permanently because it rendered them symptom free.'

For the possible link between bras and breast cancer, see Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer, Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras. (USA: Avery Books, 1995), with a brief update by the authors at The Herbal Advisor, 'Bras Still Cause Breast Cancer: Are Your Patients Dressed To Kill?' 2 Apr. 2007.

In this study the two medical anthropologists questioned over 4,500 women -- half of whom had breast cancer -- about their bra wearing habits. The results suggested a high correlation between wearing bras for more than 12 hours per day and a significant increase in the incidence of breast cancer; with those wearing their bras 24 hours a day having the highest incidence.

While there are obvious limitations with this kind of study, the results are striking enough to warrant further investigation.

Indeed, according to the authors' analysis, the apparent increased risk of breast cancer in the bra-wearing group compared to the non-bra-wearers was somewhere between four and twelves times greater than the known increased-risk for lung-cancer for cigarette smokers over non-smokers.

One theory for a possible correlation is that wearing a bra may restrict the functioning of the lymphatic system, which is very close to the surface of the skin and can be affected by even quite light pressure, and thus impede the regular elimination of toxins from the tissue around the breasts. The lymphatic system also works best when there is body movement, and it could be that immobilising breasts throughout the day also causes it to function less effectively.

There are also suggestions that bras might raise the temperature of breast tissue in a way that could be harmful if it occurs consistently over long periods, and the continued strong skin contact with elastics is another possible problem.

For a summary and review of Dressed to Kill, and a range of links and scientific references of related interest, see Ralph Reed, 'Bras and Breast Cancer', Natural Health and Longevity Resource Center, accessed 10 Mar. 1999 <http://www.all-natural.com/bras.html> and Reed's comments at http://www.breathing.com/articles/brassieres.htm.

On the importance of lymphatic flow: see for instance (Dr) Michael Schachter, 'The Prevention and Complementary Treatment of Breast Cancer', Health World Online, 7 Mar. 2006 <http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?ID=533>. Also see the description of the lymphatic system by osteopath Katherine Harkin at the Bodywise Bras website.

Regarding clinical breast pain and fibrocystic (lumpy and/or painful breasts), see Ralph Reed, 'Prevention and Treatment of Fibrocystic Breast Disease' <http://www.all-natural.com/fibrocys.html> (accessed 10 Mar. 1999), which includes personal stories or testimonials by women who experienced dramatic relief from fibrocystic breasts and breast pain when they stopped wearing bras.

See also Doris Lane, 'Lumpy Breasts? Burn Your Bra!' August 10, 2000 (linked from The Ultimate Bra Page, accessed 30 Jan. 2001[website no longer active]; and Bras: the Bare Facts, documentary produced by Dispatches, Channel 4, broadcast in the UK, November 2, 2000. For information about this documentary and a partial rough transcript see http://www.007b.com/bras_bare_facts.php on the 007Breasts website.

For 'official' responses to Dressed to Kill - see 'Critics are cool to theory linking bras, breast cancer', accessed 11 Dec. 2002 <http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/07-95/07-10-95/0710ONScancerside.HTML>, and 'American Cancer Society response to bras and breast cancer study' cited on Break the Chain website, accessed 11 Dec. 2002 <http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/bracancer.html>.

There have been many dismissals like this of the premise underlying Singer and Grismaijer's book, however I am yet to see a considered refutation. Furthermore, apart from the BBC documentary, as far as I know there has to date been no follow-up studies that attempt to test (or disprove) their extraordinary preliminary findings.

For more comments on Dressed to Kill, from a range of people including a physician, see the reviews at Amazon.com. Also see a review at the Chiropratic Journal, and two very different reviews (one critical and one positive) at the Breast Cancer Action website.

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What do you think?

Should there be more research into the possible bras and breast cancer link?

Does your bra leave marks on your body when you take it off (showing that it is affecting the lymphatic system)?

Do you wear your bra for more than 12 hours per day?

If you have painful breasts, have you ever tried going without a bra for 3 weeks, to see if it helped?

And if you have stopped wearing a bra, or wear it for less time, have you found that the ligaments get stronger and that you can exercise (as some have found) with just a good firm stretchy top? Or is it too uncomfortable?

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“ Beth Spencer is currently writing a novel called A Short (Personal) History of the Bra and its Contents. You can check out more of her published fiction and essays at http://www.bethspencer.com. To read and comment on two chapters from the new novel go to http://www.theartofpeacefulhealing.com .”