Many serious athletes wish to reduce the size of their breasts to improve their performance. Dr. Paul Pin offers breast reduction consultations so patients can find out if breast reduction is the right choice for them. To learn more about breast reduction for athletes, including its benefits, contact our Dallas, TX practice today.

How Do Overly Large Breasts Hamper Female Athletes?

There are several issues athletes with overly large breasts may encounter. Perhaps the biggest problem is keeping the breasts from moving around too much while engaging in a high-impact sport that involves some amount of running or fast movement. If the breasts move too much, they can cause back pain. Furthermore, female athletes may find that their nipples get chafed from rubbing against the fabric of the sports bra if it is not properly fitted.

In other cases, women may find that overly large breasts hamper certain arm movements that are necessary for their particular sport. A backhand shot in tennis is a good example of this. The dominant playing arm must move across the front of the chest for the tennis racquet to hit the ball. Tennis players who use a two-handed backhand may have even more difficulty, as they must stretch the arms even further across the chest to get the same reach as somebody using a one-handed backhand shot. The overhead serving motion needed for volleyball, a jump shot in basketball, and the swing motion needed to hit a softball are also good examples of this type of arm movement.

Breast Reduction Procedure

There are several techniques that Dr. Pin can use to reduce the size of the breasts, depending upon the extent of reduction that is needed. These surgical methods can range from just moving the nipple and areola (the darkened skin around the nipple) to a higher position on the chest, all the way to significantly reducing the overall size and shape of the breasts. If a small amount of weight is to be removed from the chest, a small incision around the areola may suffice. To remove a moderate amount of weight, an additional incision will be made from the areola to the breast crease. To remove the most amount of breast tissue, an additional incision will be made along the crease of the breast.

Athletes who undergo a breast reduction procedure will understandably be impatient to get back to their regular exercise routine. Dr. Pin, however, advises caution for patients to get the best results. Patients should wait a minimum of four to six weeks after surgery before resuming a light exercise routine. In most cases, patients can return to their regular athletic activities within eight to 10 weeks after surgery.

Serious female athletes push themselves just as hard as male athletes do to be on top of their game. Having overly large breasts should not hamper female athletes. Breast reduction surgery can help women gain the ability to technically excel at their game, as well as provide a boost of self-confidence necessary to dominate the playing field.