Everyday habits that could be causing your breasts to sag

The Dynamic Troika

Breasts shape is the end-result of a delicate balance of forces between a dynamic troika of structural supports. The troika are Cooper’ ligaments (see below), the firm youthful breast tissue between them and the enveloping skin ‘brassiere’. Breasts are suspended from the chest wall, by ‘guy’ ropes known as Cooper’s Ligaments. These are strong, flexible connective tissue ligaments that support the breasts. They travel through the breast gland or parenchyma and attach to the undersurface of the skin. A youthful perky breast possesses all three elements of the dynamic troika: tight Cooper’s ligaments, firm parenchyma between them and the skin layer with its epithelium, dermis and subcutaneous fat, all of them rich in supportive collagen and elastin fibers. The three: Cooper’s ligaments, breast parenchyma, and the skin, dynamically support the breast. A failure of one  breaks the dynamic balance and can result in a flat or saggy breast. Unfortunately, this is a common event. For the record exercise such as push-ups do not strengthen Cooper’s ligaments or lift the breast.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper%27s_ligaments

These are the everyday causes of breast sag.

1. Yo-yo weight changes and Massive Weight Loss*

Weight gain and weight loss affect all three elements of the troika. The greater the difference between maximum and minimum weights, the greater the effect. Weight gain stretches the structural supports of Cooper’s Ligaments and the skin, depleting elastic fibers and collagen. Significant weight loss occurs in the presence of these impaired structural elements so that the breast is unable to ‘bounce-back’ and is no longer supported and consequently sags. Weight loss also causes atrophy of the breast parenchyma. It’s a triple whammy.

2. Running

Running is often blamed for breast sagging. The obvious up and down motion will stretch Cooper’s ligaments. However, I believe that a lot of runners are also anorexic and have a weight below their ideal BMI. Running is such an easy endorphin-primed way to lose weight that runners get addicted. I know. I used to be one. That is, until my knees started screaming their objection. Whatever the underlying process, running can lead to a loss of facial and upper body fat and muscle and selective upper body weight loss with the same changes we see with generalized weight loss.

3. Pregnancy

Pregnancy is not an everyday cause of breast sag, but it is one of the most common causes. There is the associated weight gain, enlargement and then shrinking of breast parenchyma, stretching of Cooper’s Ligaments and relaxation of collagen and elastin in the skin and subcutaneous tissues. In other words, the ‘Full Monty’. However, pregnancy alone, seems to primarily lead to deflation of the breast due to the loss of parenchymal volume. the deflation causes some sag but not to the degree associated with loss of the other structural elements.

4. Breast Feeding
Breast feeding is not an everyday cause of breast sag, but again like pregnancy, it is one of the most common. Breast feeding causes enlargement and stretching of the structural elements that support the breast. When breast feeding ceases, all these elements try to return to their pre-pregnancy condition with varying degree of success. The parenchyma tends to overshoot and lose volume as compared to its pre-pregnancy size. I think it is reasonable to assume that the longer you breast feed, the more profound and permanent will be the changes to the breast. Breast feeding like pregnancy, seems to result primarily in deflation of the breast.

*Massive weight loss is defined as the patient having lost 50% of their weight in excess of their ideal BMI

Schedule a Consultation 

Call for an appointment and a consultation with Dr. Kirwan.

Conveniently Located: Every patient is a VIP. Our Norwalk, CT location is conveniently located in between Manhattan, New York and New Haven, Connecticut. Patients regularly visit from across Connecticut (Stamford, Greenwich, Stratford, Fairfield, Westport, Bridgeport, Darien, New Canaan, Trumbull), New York ( Manhattan, NYC, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Port Chester, White Plains, Harrison), New Jersey and other neighboring cities/towns. Our office is close to all of the New York Airports for patients who are coming from out-of-state or other countries.

Share this Article