{"id":29809,"date":"2025-08-29T01:27:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T01:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/29809\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T01:27:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T01:27:11","slug":"how-a-well-fitted-bra-can-change-everything-from-posture-to-confidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/29809\/","title":{"rendered":"how a well-fitted bra can change everything from posture to confidence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting fitted for a bra at London\u2019s legendary lingerie store Rigby & Peller had unexpected effects on chartered physiotherapist Siobh\u00e1n O\u2019Donovan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not only did the former \u201cstereotypical 36B, 34C\u201d Cork woman leave with 32DD and 32E bras, she experienced a \u201chuge enhancement in terms of self-esteem, self-image, self-confidence\u201d and felt \u201can inch taller\u201d.<\/p>\n

The transformation effected by wearing a properly-fitting bra stayed with her, and a lightbulb moment ensued when she reflected on the postural issues female physiotherapy clients were regularly bringing to her clinic: Breast weight was not being addressed properly, if at all.<\/p>\n

She realised that to properly address the pain and discomfort she was seeing in her clinic, women not only needed postural adjustment, they also needed an expertly fitted bra \u2014 the combination was key.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donovan had long been advising clients to get a well-fitting bra, but found they\u2019d return wearing \u201csomething that was no better\u201d or, sometimes, \u201cworse\u201d. After asking herself, \u201cWhy are we relying on somebody else to provide us with this service? Why are we not learning this ourselves?\u201d, she completed a course in bra-fitting so she could teach women and girls how to do it properly themselves.<\/p>\n

Now known as The Booby Physio, she combined her new-found bra-fitting knowledge with her physiotherapy and strength and conditioning expertise, to create the PostureFitting approach \u2014 which she now offers at her Timoleague clinic or via PostureFitting partners she has trained in her method.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donovan, who began her career as a PE teacher, qualified with a master’s degree in athletic training in the US, before setting up a sports medicine and sports performance practice in Britain with her sports scientist husband. While in Britain, she played women\u2019s rugby, served as a physio for the women\u2019s England team, and rounded out her rugby career as an Ireland international scrum-half.<\/p>\n

In 2007, she moved back to Ireland and set up in private practice. Her US training had been prevention focused, and O\u2019Donovan naturally gravitated towards relaying that message in her clinic, \u201ctalking to people more and more about posture and more in general consultations about how the position they might be putting themselves in during the day\u2026 was affecting their recovery\u201d.<\/p>\n

She advocates \u201cposture stacking\u201d, a method of aligning the head over the ribs and the ribs over the pelvis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not looking for perfect. There\u2019s no such thing as perfect posture,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re looking for a posture that allows somebody to function optimally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Siobh\u00e1n O’Donovan: The Booby Physio<\/p>\n

Shedding light<\/p>\n

Posture adjustment is only half the equation, though.<\/p>\n

To illustrate how her method optimises breast weight, O\u2019Donovan uses a quirky but effective car-headlights analogy. Posture correction alone, she explains, will bring the breasts from \u201cdipped headlights to full beam\u201d and a properly fitting bra will do the same; combining correct posture with a correctly fitting bra, however, will bring the breasts \u201cfrom full beam to high\u201d.<\/p>\n

At a consultation, \u201cwe teach people how to manage their breast weight internally, which is the posture [aspect], and then [how to manage it] externally with the bras\u201d.<\/p>\n

Not one of her 16 PostureFitting providers has yet \u201cseen somebody [arrive wearing] an optimally-fitting bra\u201d, O\u2019Donovan says, adding that store bra fitters generally cite 90-95% of women wear the wrong size. At the same time, University of Portsmouth research found 70 to 80% of the women surveyed were in the wrong bra. Whatever the exact figure, it\u2019s clear that countless women and girls are enduring the discomfort of an ill-fitting bra, and the consequences for health can be considerable.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donovan was inundated with messages following an appearance on the Oliver Callan radio show in January last year. \u201cOnce women became aware the service was available, the demand was significant,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Five-point fit guide<\/p>\n

\"DippedDipped headlights to high beam<\/p>\n

How do you know your bra is ill-fitting? O\u2019Donovan cites the University of Portsmouth, where Joanna Wakefield-Scurr has been pioneering research into breast health since 2005, developing a five-point fit guide through 12 years of that research.<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, these are: The bra\u2019s band should neither be too loose nor too tight, \u201cthe band is where the vast majority of the breast support happens\u201d; breasts should be fully enclosed within the cups; the underwire should follow the crease of the breast and not sit on any breast tissue, \u201cpeople hate wired bras because they think the wire is the devil. If you have a correctly-fitting wired bra, you don\u2019t know you\u2019re wearing it\u201d; the bra\u2019s centre-front should sit flat against the body; and the shoulder straps should feel comfortable and not dig in.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donovan emphasises that the focus should be on a bra\u2019s fit, rather than its size, \u201cbecause the best size is the one that fits\u201d. Sizing can differ between brands, she points out, and \u201csome bra styles just suit a person\u2019s body better than others\u201d.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s not against buying online: \u201cIf somebody has learned how to fit themselves, then you can order something online, because you know the criteria [and can say] yes, this fits me, I\u2019m going to keep it, or no, this doesn\u2019t fit me. I\u2019m sending it back.\u201d<\/p>\n

She similarly advocates walking away from a shop-fitted bra that\u2019s not quite right, perhaps because the optimal size isn\u2019t in stock: \u201cIf it\u2019s poorly fitted\u2026 I want people to be empowered enough to be able to say, \u2018thanks. I\u2019m going to leave it for today\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freeboobing, aka going braless, should be \u201can informed choice\u201d, she says: \u201cPeople very often say to me, \u2018Oh, that doesn\u2019t affect me. I\u2019ve got small boobs\u2019, and I\u2019ll say, it absolutely does affect you because any weight is a weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if posture is optimal to begin with, the skin will stretch, she says, ultimately leading to \u201cdipped headlights\u201d, and knock-on postural and health issues.<\/p>\n

The consequences of not wearing a bra or wearing an ill-fitting one are myriad, she says, ranging from neck and back pain to impacts on pelvic health, pulmonary health, diaphragmatic breathing, and sports performance \u2014 as well as reduced confidence and decreased participation in sport and in life activities.<\/p>\n

Going the extra mile<\/p>\n

The University of Portsmouth research team found that running with inadequate breast support not only made exercise feel harder, it decreased runners\u2019 stride length by 4cm, adding an extra mile to a marathon-distance run.<\/p>\n

They were the first to determine that breasts move in three directions: up and down, side to side, forward and back. This \u201cfigure of eight\u201d movement is amplified during running.<\/p>\n

A 2019 study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport found breasts can \u201cmove up to 19cm vertically\u201d and \u201cup to 4cm\u201d in the other two directions, while \u201cas little as 2cm of breast motion can cause exercise-induced breast discomfort\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe narrative needs to change from \u2018everybody should be in a sports bra\u2019 to \u2018everybody should be in an optimally-fitting sports bra\u2019,\u201d O\u2019Donovan says. \u201cWe now have research that indicates breast movement on poorly-supported breast weight is one of the reasons for girls dropping out of high school sports. We\u2019ve also got studies of women saying that they\u2019re not as active as they should be because of breast weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Portsmouth researchers found wearing a sports bra was equally effective at curtailing movement across all breast sizes, with a 53% movement reduction for A cup and a 55% reduction for G cup.<\/p>\n

Post-menopausal women are the highest cohort to undergo surgical breast reductions, O\u2019Donovan says, adding breast size often increases at this life stage and has been shown to impact activity levels negatively.<\/p>\n

Plastic surgery data has illuminated the benefits women accrue from a reduced breast weight, she says: \u201cImprovement in pain, improvement in breathing, improvements in self-esteem, willingness to do more activities, functional activities are easier\u201d.<\/p>\n

But these gains, she says, in almost all cases, can be achieved through her approach.<\/p>\n

Acknowledging \u201cthere will be times when somebody might still need surgery\u201d, she sees \u201cPostureFitting as being a non-operative situation that takes you out of the desire to have a reduction because you learn how to manage your breast weight\u201d.<\/p>\n

Effectively managing people\u2019s breast weight is O\u2019Donovan\u2019s mission and her ambition is to empower all women to do just that: \u201cSo many women will just put up with stuff because they think it\u2019s part of being a woman, but there is a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n