How do bra strap orientation and design affect the comfort of women with large breasts

Encapsulation style sports bras reduce breast motion and exercise-induced breast pain in women with large breasts more effectively than crop tops [1]. Less than 50% of women, however, wear encapsulation style sports bras during exercise because they are deemed too uncomfortable to wear [2]. The main source of this discomfort among exercising women is typically the bra straps [2]. For example, it was recently revealed that 68% of 106 respondents disliked bra straps “cutting in”, whereas 57% of respondents disliked bra straps “slipping off their shoulders” [3]. Despite bra straps being a primary cause of discomfort, no research has systematically examined the influence of modifying bra strap design and orientation on strap comfort. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of altering bra strap orientation and design on bra strap comfort for women with large breasts when they exercise wearing an encapsulation style sports bra