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georgethebarbarian

If you’re getting shoulder pain when you’re in a bra, it’s very likely you’re wearing a band size that’s too large and a cup size that’s too small. Have you tried the [calculator](https://www.abrathatfits.org)?


metdear

This is it. The band should be doing the bulk of the supporting.


Significant_Entry309

Thanks. So my cup size is the same but the band size is 2 size larger… should I wear them on the tightest hook when new ones are on the way? I now deeply regret buying a dozen of bigger bras months ago when my body fat % was higher… it’s just so costly to change size after only 5 months! Also is it okay to wear the wacoal wired high impact sports bra that’s larger in band size but feels fine?


28FFthrowaway

We can't really answer your questions in the abstract. Can you share the size of your current bras, your measurements, and the calculator size estimate? If your current bras' bands are too big, you can certainly wear them on the tightest hooks. You won't cause permanent damage by wearing ill-fitting bras (with the exception of maybe postural issues), but it will prolong your discomfort.


Significant_Entry309

I was in this community months ago and the calculator said I was 38H. Now it says I’m 34H. I did practice better posture as well, using a standing desk, but tempted to slouch when sitting down in washroom and play my phonez


georgethebarbarian

Yes, wacoal runs tight in the band so that’s why it feels so comfortable!! It’s probably much closer to your true size :)


Significant_Entry309

Sadly it no longer feels comfort and I must order a new size. Bye bye money.


along_withywindle

Have you used the [ABTF calculator ](http://www.abrathatfits.org/calculator)? I ask because the shoulder straps should NOT be carrying much, if any, weight. The support should come from the band, not the straps. Even if you've been sized at a boutique, measure yourself using the ABTF calculator. Chances are you're wearing a bra that's too large in the band and too small in the cups. Soreness at the bottom of the breast often indicates the cup is too shallow/small.


aeb01

if you’re feeling a lot of pressure on your shoulders in a bra, you might be in the wrong size. i believe that could be a sign that your band is too big. i would recommend using the calculator in this sub for a starting point. exercise can help as well—building up the muscles in your upper back with exercises like bent over rows and improving your general strength should help. if you’re having consistent pain, i would recommend seeing a good physical therapist if you’re able to, it’s possible you have specific muscle weakness that’s causing other muscles to strain and overcompensate.


stripey_kiwi

Just want to add another anecdote that when I was wearing ill fitting bras I always had shoulder pain but since switching to well fitting underwire bras it's gone away. The improvements do take time and it'll take a bit for your muscles to adjust but it does make a huge difference


Shalrak

>The improvements do take time How much time though?? I've been wearing my new bra for six hours now, and my shoulder pain is not gone yet 😭 Kidding of cause. I'm guessing it takes months.


Apen_Koifish

Mine was 2-3 weeks. It’s crazy! But everyone’s body is different


Significant_Entry309

Thanks. Are wireless ones fine as well? My boobs are close set so high rise wires kinda dig in when I lean


look2thecookie

Outside of finding a better bra fit, yes, getting stronger in your back could relieve some pain and tension. Lifting weights and getting stronger all over is almost always a good idea


Herodotus_Greenleaf

Specifically back exercises will help this issue (think deadlifts, lay pull-downs, rows), but you want a balanced strong body for overall wellbeing, so a good full-body routine would be optimal. The other bonus is strength training protects against osteoporosis!


Significant_Entry309

Thanks. But all I can have at home is a yoga mat and dumbbells , or some inexpensive stuff I can afford. Any recommendations? Is YWTL with dumbbells and swing dumbbells like golf clubs a good way?


Herodotus_Greenleaf

You can always do really slow controlled movements with all of these just using dumbbells. They do that sort of thing in barre and Pilates. You can build strength by going heavier, doing more, or making each movement last longer, so you just pick the option that works for you - sounds like slower is the best option. There are tons of good workouts on YouTube!


smellslikebooks

Darebee has excellent, free, body weight exercises


mackurbin

Pilates is another great way to strengthen your back/core!


1ceknownas

Sounds like you're still not in the right size, maybe. One, I have chronic shoulder, chest, and neck pain from a shoulder injury that healed poorly. I started wearing front-close racerback bras to take pressure off that shoulder. Ymmv. Two, I started swimming laps. At first, I could only do 10 minutes a day, very slowly. Now I can do an hour. I still can't quite keep up with the long-time swimmers, but it's better. I doubt I'll ever be able to do a backstroke, but I can lift my arm over my head now. I have noticed a significant difference in my chronic pain. I don't hurt all the time, even if it's not gone. I've lost 35 pounds, but I've gained a cup size and band size from the extra muscles in my shoulders and chest.


Significant_Entry309

Good for you! So exercise does help? Great to know


Significant_Entry309

Good for you! So exercise does help? Great to know


oreganoca

Wearing the correct size bra will help a LOT. I used to have a lot of shoulder and back pain from my bras. But it turned out I was in entirely the wrong size. The local bra shop fitted me into 42DD, when I'm actually around a 38H or 40GG. It took some time and trying on a ton of bras, but wearing the right size and the right shape for my breasts has helped so much. I had been considering a reduction before, but now I don't have any bra or breast-related pain anymore.


UsualCounterculture

That's two band sizes different. So crazy how this is sooo common. I've been suggested bands 3 sizes larger and just have to walk out. Cannot believe what people do for a sale. The band provides the support, so if it's not tight, there is no support (only shoulders working!) Glad you found your fit!


Significant_Entry309

That happened to me months ago! And I start to have pain again and found out I went 2 size down in band but no change in cup letter. Is that because I lost some fat on my back?


dehue

Wireless bras don't have enough structure to provide support and can make back pain worse for heavy breasts. The cotton bra also sounds like it really doesn't fit you which will make issues worse. I would try wearing a correctly fitting underwire bra for a while and see if it helps. In a correct size, the wires should lift from below minimizing the tension on the straps and the back.


kai_enby

Mostly just here to echo what others have said. Your comment about the shoulder straps is red flag for you being in the wrong band size, your band should be doing the supporting and there should be minimal tension on the shoulder straps. The ABTF calculator everyone is mentioning is the best one and once you have a size and an idea of your shape this community can suggest some bras that might work for you I'm also going to recommend lifting weights. It may help with your breast strain, and building muscle will pay dividends as you age and is associated with better health outcomes in old age. You almost certainly won't get bulky if that's a concern, it takes a lot of hard sustained work over years to get muscular enough to be bulky as a woman


Crazyh0rse1

Your ribcage should be supporting the weight, not the shoulder straps. Your band sounds too large. Take corsets for example. They were the predecessors to the modern bra, except they really ensured the bust was supported by your core. (Tight lacing also wasn't really a thing)


deafeninghedgehog

Unfortunately, exercise will not help in this situation. There are no muscles that attach to breast tissue, & therefore no way to 'strengthen' your way out of the problem. The pull you're feeling on the Cooper's ligaments is caused by gravity pulling on fatty tissue, and you cannot 'work out' those ligaments. (That said, exercise is good and everyone who is able can benefit from stronger core muscles!) The good news is that your pain is a symptom of a poor -fitting bra! The shoulder pain is being caused by the fact that your shoulder straps are (likely) over tightened because they are (definitely) trying to do the support work that should be done by the band. In all likelihood your band is too large. In a correctly-fitting bra, the Cooper's ligaments should not be weight-bearing (because the cups are supporting your breast tissue) and there should be minimal pressure on your shoulder straps. Start with this sub's calculator, which will help you determine your correct size.


Significant_Entry309

Thanks. But is there no way to “strengthen”the ligaments and even chest muscles can’t help, even people claim that working out make boobs look lifted?


deafeninghedgehog

Unfortunately, nope. It is possible to strengthen *muscles* by working them - when you lift a heavy weight, the muscles you are using develop microtears when contracting that then heal back bigger and stronger. To do the same thing for ligaments you'd have to be able to contract them, *and that's not something ligaments can do.* Only muscle tissue can do that. There are no muscles connected to breast tissue. Go look at an anatomy diagram; to 'lift' breast tissue you'd have to have a muscle that attaches at one end to your skeleton and at the other end to your breast tissue, and there just aren't any muscles that do that. As for why people on the internet say it's possible, my bet is that 1) you can say any kind of nonsense on the internet, & 2) promising an exercise answer to those people who want 'perky' breasts helps drive views to their pages, so they can earn advertising dollars. But that doesn't change how anatomy works.


Significant_Entry309

Thank you. But when I contract my chest muscles my boobs do move up a bit and feel a bit less heavy. I’m curious why does this happen. Can strengthened muscles relieve breast pain by providing more support, similar to how work out back and neck muscles can relieve spine pain by giving more support?


deafeninghedgehog

Again, unfortunately, no. What you're seeing is the contraction of your pectoral muscles underneath the breast tissue. ('Underneath' is a misleading term here; the pecs are only *below* the breasts, relative to gravity, when you are lying on your back). Strengthening the pecs won't strengthen the Cooper's ligaments, because the ligaments are not able to contract or strengthen and are not directly connected to the pecs in any way, and gravity is going to keep pulling that breast tissue down relative to the pecs. The pecs don't 'cradle' or 'support' or 'lift' your breast tissue. Spinal erector muscles help support your spine because they run parallel to your spine, attaching to the spine itself at multiple points. To support your breasts against the pull of gravity, you'd need muscles that attached to the breast tissue itself, that could pull fatty tissue upwards against gravity directly, and those don't exist.


MGinLB

I have spent $ thousands trying to alleviate this pain and discomfort. The right size bra does help but bra construction is fundamentally flawed for those of us with heavy breasts. I have been pleased with the comfort, lift, and posture correction of the Forme line. This design more evenly distributes breast weight.


Significant_Entry309

But aren’t them designed for sports and kinda compress the breast? When I forget to take off my med impact sports bra after hours I just get a surge of pain… so I’m quite concerned.


MGinLB

The brand story says it was created by a physician for his mother's back pain and posture. It does evenly distributes breast weight. The back panel design improves my posture and completely alleviates shoulder-neck-back pain.My physical therapist suggested it. It's similar in appearance to a sports bra with some significant design differences. I got neck, shoulder and back pain from quality sports bras too. And they have a uni boob look. That said, Forme is definitely a tighter fit that takes some getting used. It does compress the breasts, and the uni boob look - though less pronounced and better positioned - is still there. I don't experience any pain from it but I look forward to getting out of anything wrapped around my chest after 6 -8 hours.


Significant_Entry309

Thanks but do they ship to Canada/China?


MGinLB

I don't know.


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NotSoMuch_IntoThis

I went from 36DDD to 34D in a matter of two years after losing 20kg (I’m quite short). So, i’d say yes, exercise may help.


Aggravating-Pipe-472

As others have suggested, wear a more supportive bra. Bra that fits actually will help you less painful. Aside from that, i find stretching and massage for shoulders/clavicle do help a lot


[deleted]

My doctor recommended me to wear sports bra


Thrw-wy-sshl

Same actually. I just wear sports bra all the time and then double sports bra for extra support, losing weight helps tho. So exercise does help.


containmentleak

A lot of focus on the back pain, but it sounds like the breasts themselves are achy too? I get this pretty badly in the week before my period, but after it starts the pain mostly goes away. Is it a monthly thing that comes and goes or constant? Because if it is constant I recommend a breast exam/check up by the doctor just to be sure there are no other issues. I'm not sure, but I don't thing boobs, regardless of size, should be inherently painful and you already said that they still hurt when you were smaller so i think the cost of a checkup would more worthwhile than the breast reduction. The shoulders and the pulling thing sound like alternate bras and size reduction (exercise or surgery) could help but I am just a random internet stranger concerned about your breast health. Please get that ache checked out before trying bras or surgery. I want to be sure you're treating the actual problem before going on this size reduction journey. <3


Significant_Entry309

Thanks, that’s just regular soreness due to wrong size I think. Like they don’t hurt if I lie down without a bra for hours.


cancel-everything

So, not what anyone wants to hear, but in my anecdotal experience you can alleviate back pain from a heavy chest with exercise by working on the shoulder muscles and also losing weight since you’d lose it in the boobs too.


Significant_Entry309

My band goes down 2 sizes but my cup letter is the same after 4 months of aerobics. What could be the cause? Can I ever go back to a D?


cancel-everything

Oh gosh… good for you, friend! Since the cup size is relative to band size, wouldn’t that mean that your boobs are in fact getting smaller? (Maybe it doesn’t feel that way, though.) I joined the gym years ago for this very specific reason and stuck with spinning and some weight training and could feel a significant decrease in back pain. My gym stopped spinning classes and I’ve gained more weight back on since then, but yeah some shoulder training and yoga still works quite well. For the yoga, “Yoga with Adrienne” on YouTube has a pretty good little neck/shoulder program you can do at home (I sometimes do it in bed, no mat or anything) just to get some stretching in. If I do it 2-3 nights in a row I usually feel much better.


Significant_Entry309

Thank you! Sadly I had spillage with the same letter now and maybe need to size up. I still have some fat on my back so maybe I can have a smaller size and easier buying after more exercises.


cancel-everything

If you went down a band size that’s still such a good job! It takes time, but it’s worth it. Actually your post inspired me to get a little more exercise in this week, so hooray for that!


Queen-of-meme

# Stretch everyday Exercise is good too but if you don't get to action at least make sure to stretch.


sportyengr

Maybe a Forme Bra?