BREAST HEALTH
of contemporary body armour has focused on male users, with limited consideration of the fit and functional requirements of females. It is essential female officers experience both physical and psychological comfort when wearing body armour, which has been shown to significantly affect officers’ performance. Armour has also been shown to affect officers’ mobility, in particular trunk flexion and extension, affecting task efficiency. There have been some progressions in body armour design to better suit female fit, restricted to layering, stitching, tapering and folding materials to better suit breast- like shapes. Yet reportedly, 67 per cent of female officers found wearing body armour either uncomfortable or very uncomfortable with a bra, regardless of type. Research into a more effective bra and body armour combination is needed. Further, larger- breasted police
In an exciting first step to address some of the concerns outlined, the College of Policing is currently funding a study with the RGBH, in collaboration with the University of Lincoln. The aim of the project is two-fold. Firstly, to provide breast educational material to the National Police Wellbeing Service, and secondly, to conduct an initial lab-based research study to assess equipment-laden breast motion in a range of bra styles. Breast educational material is now available as a resource on the Oscar Kilo website. The information is split into two sections; the first section is about understanding breasts, the challenges and
the body.
“As the number of female police officers increases, there is an increased importance to understand issues relating to female-specific health and well- being. Breast health can significantly impact a female’s occupational performance, health and overall wellbeing”
officers (UK D cup size and above) more frequently report discomfort or rubbing with their body armour. This finding concurs with previous studies that have reported breast pain and bra discomfort to be higher in larger-breasted women. Reducing breast motion in larger-breasted females is necessary to decrease breast pain and discomfort, however, using compression to do so may lead to greater vulnerable regions surrounding the armpit and chest cavity when wearing soft armour. This creates a prime safety concern for larger-breasted female officers, ignoring the non-negotiable requirements, and should be investigated further. Although research has been conducted
to understand the association between breast motion, breast pain, breast support and bra fit, the interaction between the breasts, the bra and PPE is still largely unknown. Despite knowing the advantages of sports bra usage, the suitability of a high support sports bra for long-duration (8-12 hours) wear is unknown. Furthermore, despite the issuing of professionally fitted and well-supporting sports bras for British Army Basic Training recruits, there is still a high incidence of bra issues. Thus, suggesting reduced appropriateness of sports bras for long duration wear. The interaction between a high support sports bra and body armour is also undetermined, therefore, research into an effective bra and PPE combination is required.
concerns; the second section provides information about what is appropriate breast support and how to get a good bra fit. The aim of these resources is to increase knowledge of important breast health concerns, such as breast pain, breast sag, the impact of breast size and how life cycle events such as pregnancy and menopause have implications for the breast. They are also a resource to refer to when choosing appropriate breast support for work, providing information on the different bra types available, and hopefully providing some useful tips regarding how to assess your own bra fit. The aim of the lab study is to explore the
interaction of PPE with different bra types across a range of breast sizes, and how this interaction affects breast movement and the perception of comfort. Data has now been collected from a number of officers from Lincolnshire Police and results are currently being analysed. Participants performed walking, running and jumping activities in three different bra style conditions (an underwired everyday bra (low support); a compression sports bra (medium support) and a combination sports bra (high support)) with and without PPE (soft body armour and a tactical vest) being worn. Breast motion was monitored by sensors, and overall movement of the upper body was tracked by cameras, to understand how different bra conditions may affect the interaction of the PPE on
13 | POLICE | DECEMBER | 2023
The vast majority (85 per cent) of participants in the study reported breast or bra issues when on shift. The majority of officers in this study (62 per cent) wore an underwired t-shirt bra, similar to previous research. Shoulder straps and the underband ‘digging in’ underneath PPE were noted to be a discomfort by 39 per cent of participants during everyday shift patterns. And during the biomechanical testing the underwire bra condition was rated as the most painful, least supportive and most unsuitable for all activities compared to the two sports bra conditions, both with and without PPE. Further results from this study will be available in due course.
The aim of the current project is to provide
recommendations to the police about appropriate breast support when on duty. Investigating
the interaction of operational equipment and bra type on breast health in female police officers will complement the ever- growing prevalence of female-focused research and enhance officers’ wellbeing across the nation. A greater understanding of the bra and PPE interaction may also lead to pain reduction, decreased sick days and recommendations for future PPE adaptations and/or appropriate breast support for female officers.
For breast educational material, visit:
www.oscarkilo.org.uk/breast-health
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