Some women notice
after menopause that their breasts are not as full as they used to be or that
their bras seem a bit looser. This is because estrogen levels are changing,
says Lila Schmidt, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist in private practice in
San Diego. However, Dr. Schmidt says, not too many women would be that
concerned about it.
Change in your
breasts
That is not what you want to hear or recognize, but the
changes are inevitable. Yes, your breasts do change with menopause, just as
they change with any fluctuation of hormone levels, starting with their
development in puberty.
During your late 40s, you will start to notice some
changes as you approach menopause—the period known as perimenopause. Your
periods will be less frequent, and as the levels of estrogen, progesterone, and
prolactin begin to fluctuate, your breasts may feel tender and more lumpy.
However, the breast discomfort during the perimenopausal
years is usually cyclical—more around the time of your period and decreasing a
few days into your period. Feelings of fullness may also occur. Finally, at
menopause—defined as the absence of periods for one year—your hormone levels
continue their drop, resulting in breast tissue that is less dense and fattier.
You may also notice physical changes in your breasts.
Estrogen keeps the connective tissue of your breasts hydrated and elastic. In
the hormone’s absence, the breasts shrink because the ducts and mammary glands
shrink, and the breasts become less firm and lose their shape. You may notice
particular sagging of the breasts as you get older.
Is it a problem?
Breast specialist and surgeon Ian Laidlaw, of Frimley
Park Hospital, Surrey, says drooping breasts can have a serious psychological
impact on a woman.
He says, “A large part of a woman’s femininity is her
breasts. Sagging is a predictable change, yet it can have a profound impact.
The feelings women get when they can’t control the changes in their breasts can
include inferiority, distorted body image, unattractiveness and worthlessness.”
The condition even has its own medical name — ptosis —
and droopiness can be graded by doctors on a three-stage scale.
On the first stage on the condition evaluation, for young
woman, the nipple is usually above the line where the base of the breast meets
the chest — or the inframammary fold.
By stage two, the nipple is around one to three inches
below that point. And, at stage three, the breast hangs more than 3 cm below,
with the nipple often pointing down to the floor. Over a lifetime, a woman with
heavy breasts may see her nipples drop by as much as ten or 11cms if they
descend to her waistline.
Breasts are made of a mixture of mammary glands and fat.
Through this run hundreds of pieces of tissue which connect the bulk of the
breast to the skin — and keep the breast suspended. How stable your breasts
condition stay depends partly on the genes, which govern how much fat, glands
and connective tissue they contain. Generally, the more connective tissue and
glands you have, the firmer and more buoyant your breasts are likely to be.
Size will also dictate how firm they stay. The heavier
they are, the more strain on the skin and supporting ligaments, which, like elastic
bands, stretch permanently under persistent pressure.
How to Prevent?
Estrogen is the main hormone influencing on how your
breasts look. This female sex hormone, which first makes the breasts grow — and
stimulates the development of a tree-like network of milk ducts leading to the
nipple. Every month, as part of the menstrual cycle, rising levels of estrogen
prepare a woman’s body for possible pregnancy. One side effect is that it
stimulates the breast tissue by making it expand and retain water. After
menopause, when estrogen levels begin to fall permanently, milk ducts and
glands ‘go into retirement’ and shrink — making the breasts feel emptier. The
tissue, which makes breasts firm, also shrivels and gets replaced by fat, which
is heavier and less able to withstand gravity.
Thus, the only way to prevent the breasts sagging
phenomena is to deal with the estrogen deficiency. After menopause, the “green
ways” of the hormones balancing will not be as efficient as on the earlier life
stages. The Hormone replacement therapy, the same as estrogen-containing meds
may not be a approach of choice, so the prevention approach should be consider
on more realistic grounds – on how to minimize the negative effect.
Here are several practical approaches, you should
consider:
1. Keeping the
weigh stable.
There are two places where fat can be found in the
breast. Seventy percent of breast fat is mixed with the glands to form the main
bulk of the bosom. The rest of the fat is located in a layer of padding just
under the skin. This particular component tends to fluctuate in thickness as
you gain and lose weight.
If this layer thickens dramatically — and then thins out
again due to dieting — it will permanently stretch the supporting skin, leading
to a droopier chest.
2. Quit smoking and
avoid excessive sun exposure.
Like anywhere else on the body, the skin on the breast
includes a network of collagen fibers, which make it firm, and elastin to make
it flexible. Over time, these fibers break down. The rate at which skin cells
renew themselves also slows, as we get older. Just as on the face, it is
important never to expose the breasts to too much sun because ultraviolet
exposure will break down collagen and elastin.
And, in the same way that smoking leads to wrinkles, it
leads to the deterioration of breast skin.
3. Exercise (with
disclaimer).
There are both good and bad news when it comes to
exercise. The right regime can keep your breasts pert by improving blood
supply. While there is no muscle in the breast itself, it is possible to build
up the underlying pectorals for a lifting effect. But, some activities —
particularly running — can take their toll. When you run without proper
support, the breasts bounce in a figure of eight, causing wear and tear on the
supporting ligaments. The larger your cup size, the greater the force on the
breasts and the more they need to be restrained to avoid damage to connective
tissue and ligaments. So, what can help? Supportive sports bra helps to
minimize the boobs bouncing up-and-down effect, while running or doing other
high impact aerobic exercises.
It is said that the right exercises can keep your breasts
perky, however, since breasts are made
up of fat, not muscle—technically there’s nothing to tighten or tone. But chest
exercises can help improve the appearance of your pectoral area by
strengthening surrounding ligaments, which in turn may make them appear more
lively, stated Anne Taylor, MD, a clinical assistant professor of plastic
surgery at Ohio State University.
The easiest and most popular exercise to add firmness to
breasts is to do push-ups, which strengthen the pectoral muscles beneath the
breasts. Overall, it will help to shape up the breast and reduce the excess fat
deposits around the chest. Lifting weights can also strengthen pectoral
muscles, including curls, chest presses, dumbbell flies and many other
variations you can try that make you feel your chest muscles working.
4. Go braless.
Many women mistakenly believe that breasts cannot
anatomically support themselves and that wearing a brassiere will prevent their
breasts from sagging later in life. Researchers, bra manufacturers, and health
professionals cannot find any evidence to support the idea that wearing a bra
for any amount of time slows breast ptosis. Furthermore, two small studies
provided certain indication that wearing a bra may have an overall negative
effect on sagging breasts. In a Japanese study, 11 women were measured wearing
a standardized fitted bra for three months. They found that breasts became
larger and lower, with the underbust measurement decreasing and the overbust
increasing, while the lowest point of the breast moved downwards and outwards.
5. Proper Posture.
Poor posture is one of the most overlooked causes of
sagging breasts. By lowering your shoulders and hunching forward, you are not
giving any structural support to your breasts, and they hang freely, completely
at the mercy of gravitational forces. Poor posture can also exacerbate any back
pain or muscle soreness you have from large breasts, which happen to be the
type of breasts that show signs of sagging the most dramatically.
6. Practice Yoga.
The benefits of yoga for the entire body have been widely
studied, and it is primarily a mechanism of toning the body and increasing
flexibility. Some of that toning can occur within the breast, depending on
which positions you commonly practice. Different yoga styles focus on different
parts of the body, so those that focus on the upper body, shoulders, pectorals,
or upper arms are best for adding firmness to breasts. Some of the best
positions for strengthening the chest muscles are the Triangle Pose, the Cobra Pose,
and the Standing Forward Bend. Certain yoga positions also battle the effects
of gravity, which is a major component of sagging breasts. Try headstands,
back-bends, and the Inverted Leg Stretch to reverse some of the negative
effects of gravity on your breasts.
7. Self-Massage.
Massage your breasts at least 2-3 times per week with
olive oil. It will help add firmness to the skin as well as improve the skin
tone and texture. It will also tone your chest and increase the elasticity of
the skin. Massage draws blood to the surface of the skin, and increased blood
flow stimulates muscle growth, cell repair, and other beneficial activities
that will reduce the appearance and severity of sagging breasts.
8. Ice Massage.
Ice can help tone the skin in and around the breast
region. All you need to do is rub a few ice cubes over your breasts in wide
circular motions. Alternatively, you can also wrap some crushed ice in a soft
cloth and use the same to massage your breasts. Massage for no more than 1
minute as too much exposure to ice can cause numbness. Opt for this massage at
regular intervals throughout the day to firm your breast muscles and skin.
9. Breast Masks.
Like facial masks, breast masks can help firm the skin in
and around the breast region. You can use these breast masks at least once in a
week for desirable results. Example of the mask you can use:
Vitamin E Oil & Egg Breast Mask
* Make a paste consisting of:
1 Tbsp Plain Yogurt
1 Tbsp Vitamin E Oil
1 Egg
* Directions:
Apply this paste over your breast and rub it in nicely.
Leave on for about half an hour.
Rinse it off with cold water.
10. Get Implants.
Getting breast implants through cosmetic surgery can be
one of the possible methods to permanently get rid of your sagging breast
tissues. This procedure involves the implantation of props under the slack
breast tissues of even under the pectoral muscles. The implants not only
uplifts the breast to the heart’s content but also helps to achieve a fuller
and increased breast size and statistics.
11. Surgery.
Similar to every other case breast lifting surgeries are
to be used as a last resort, when all the natural and full safe methods do not
work for you. The surgery procedure tightens the skin across the breast and
nipples through the elimination of the stretched out loose skin and uplifting
the breasts in the process.
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