Breast problems - Drooping breasts

Drooping breasts

It is natural for breasts to droop with age, particularly in women with large breasts who have had several pregnancies. Jogging causes saggy breasts. Research from the University of Portsmouth, UK, in 2006 found that when you jog your breasts move in a three-dimensional figure-of-eight. With the average 36C breast weighing 200–300 g, this puts a lot of strain on the fragile supporting tissue. A very supportive sports bra can reduce bounce by 765%, but does not eliminate it completely.

Treatments that do not work
Breasts do not contain any muscle, so there is no exercise that will improve matters. Cosmetic companies and private clinics have realized that huge numbers of women are self-conscious about drooping breasts, and offer dubious and expensive ‘treatments’. For example, some clinics offer ‘non-surgical breast lifts’ using electrical (galvanic) stimulation to ‘tone and lift the breast’; this cannot and does not work. Many ‘firming’ gels and lotions are available; these simply tighten the skin and so give a temporary sensation of breast firmness. Some claim that they contain elastin or collagen, the body’s structural proteins. In fact, elastin or collagen applied to the surface of the skin will not be absorbed through it.

Surgery
Very droopy breasts can be tightened up by surgery. This is called mastopexy. The surgeon removes a wedge of skin and tissue from the loose, saggy upper part of the breast. The nipple and the breast tissue underneath are moved so that the nipple is positioned in the skin further up than it was. There will be a scar around the nipple area, a scar running from the nipple to the crease line underneath the breast, and sometimes a small scar in the crease line.

The breasts end up the same size as before, but have a more pleasing shape. If the nipple area has become stretched, the surgeon can make it smaller. As with all cosmetic breast surgery, it is important to choose a reputable surgeon (see choosing a cosmetic surgeon). For more detailed information about mastopexy, look at the British Association of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgeons’ website.