Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1991. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-51). Also available via the Internet.

Garment pressure and its relation to the body is important in the fit and function of clothing. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a transducer to measure the perpendicular pressure between a garment (brassiere) and the underlying skin of the shoulders, breast and back. A transducer was developed through experimentation based on the principles of the Natick lab pneumatic bladders. The transducer was connected to a system which assisted in data collection. This study revealed that it is possible to develop an inexpensive transducer that is reliable for data collection. The ability to evaluate garments in an objective manner could be combined with the subjective analysis of a model wearing a test garment. The analysis could provide information for redesigning a garment that is both functional and comfortable. / Master of Science

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology : Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / Introduction: Symptoms associated with large breasts result from bra strap chafing, poor body posture, headaches, neck, shoulder, thoracic and lower back pain. There is a paucity of literature quantifying objective data regarding the effect of breast size on posture. Therefore correct bra sizing may improve posture, however this is undetermined. This study aimed to investigate the effect of bra correction on selected postural parameters in order to determine its relevance in a clinical setting. Methodology: Sixty five females who met the inclusion criteria had the following parameters recorded: age, height, weight, body mass index, occupation, and underbust and overbust bra size. An anterior-posterior, right and left lateral digital photographs were taken before and after bra correction. These were then processed using the Posture Pro software. The data was analysed using the latest version of SPSS. The results were presented by means of standard deviations and ranges and differences between pre and post measures were performed with an ANOVA. Results: It was found that there was no correlation between changes in any of the four parameters from pre to post correction, which changed significantly with postural correction (4/43 post correction significant readings) and the demographic variables. Most participants changed to a larger cup sizes after correction which is in line with Greenbaum, (2003) who found that participants tend to buy a smaller bra size. In this study 3% of the study population changed to a bigger cup size and 97% wore bras that were too tight. Similar to the findings of Wood eta/., (2008) who found that 70% of the study population wore bras that are too small and 10% wore bras that were too big. Conclusion: In the study on effect of incorrect bra size on selected postural parameters it was found the there were four parameters that changed significantly with p<O, 05 [ANOVA]. Further investigation needs to be done on a larger sample size, age group range, BMI and different demographic. / PDF copy unavailable. please refer to hard copy for full text information / M