Wearing corsets for support and health

I often wear a corset for chronic back pain ( Corset for back pain ) or for costuming ( My post in  Tis the Season to dress like a Pirate and go to Renaissance Fairs! )

Seems like corset wearing is something people either love or hate, I find it comfortable some days when I'm working to have more support than my damaged back provides. It lowers my pain. And I love wearing them for dress up!

Do you wear a corset? Why?

Whoa, really? Wearing a corset on purpose? I always thought of corsets as some sort of medieval torture device dictated by doltish fashion, not a practical item acting as a weightlifter's belt. The things you learn here!

Great idea a back brace appropriately proportioned for a gal. They make back braces for dudes  and not necessarily proportioned for curves. Like left handed scissors.

Robert Ray wrote:Great idea a back brace appropriately proportioned for a gal. They make back braces for dudes  and not necessarily proportioned for curves. Like left handed scissors.

It's not even just the proportions, it's where back injuries are most likely to take place. In my past experience as a massge therapist, I learned that guys are more likely to hurt certain areas of their backs, and women others, due to body mechanics differences. The back braces at the drugstores are made for protecting where guys tend to get hurt when lifting things, not where women tend to get injured by pregnancy or car wrecks.

On the topic of different technology and breast support, here's a bit of bra myth busting



The big things I got from this
- non-stretchy fabric provides more support
- the fit is vital to getting sufficient support

In this video about wearing a corset, the author makes some interesting comments comparing it to bras at the end.

It does seem to me that a properly fitted and flexible corset would distribute the pressure we use to support breasts over a greater area than a bra does.

my father wore a corset for some years (after wrecking his back jumping out of a helicopter while carrying a radio), when he wasn't in traction in the hospital. It seems to have been very helpful, and it allowed him to be active while avoiding painkillers.

I've tried wearing them both with and without the modesty panel, and for me, the comfort depends on several factors, including the time of year, the thickness & type of the fabric (if I'm wearing something) underneath, the style/cut of the corset, the tightness, the fabric the lining is made of & how it's cut and the type of lacing used. One of my favorite things between my skin & a corset is super soft cotton flannel.

But, the exterior of a corset makes all the difference in the world, in your comfort, too. If it's a natural fiber(& I'd insist, if I'd be wearing it often), it would need to be a polished/ ultra smooth texture, to keep it from pulling on the garments worn over it. Pulling would cause excess wear on both the corset and the next layer up, in addition to making your movements uncomfortable and awkward.

But, over all, I love corsets, and would love to learn to make them, if I ever manage the time! They're outrageously expensive to buy, custom made, and 'off-the-rack' ones never fit quite right.

As I talk about corsets with people in my life, I can't help but notice how many people think corsets are bad for human health... without actually knowing anything about corsets.  But the opinion is very strong.  

I suspect, it's the margarine effect.  

Bernadette (who grew up in a corset-equivalent) has a great video busting most of the myths surrounding corsets causing poor health.  

I did not watch the video. In my experience people are only familiar with the extreme waist reduction corsets that you see in movies, with a girl holding the bedpost while the other one has her foot in her back to tighten it hard. That's NOT a normal corset, or a normal way to wear it. That ranks up there with girls who diet to anorexia, that's a bad extreme.

Corsets for support and pain are much different, and are not so tight your intestines get blocked etc.  Not the same thing at all.

I have read that "anything" that constricts lymph movement can contribute to long-term negative health problems. That includes bras, tight jeans and tight belts. I don't know about corsets.

One factor is how long during the day such things are worn - shorter is better generally speaking.

Another is one's action after they are removed - massaging and being active after the item/s are removed to make sure you get your lymph circulating will help.  

Generally, the wider an area that a load is spread over - "working or medical corset" rather than a bra for example - the less pressure/constriction there would be. Also, Medical Braces have been worn by people for decades, and if there's a pressure point, the goal is to distribute that pressure to prevent a "bed sore" equivalent.  

As with so many things, people's attitudes are often based on advertising and "style". Doctor's have spoken up about the negative effects of high heels for decades, and yet I still see public figures wearing them all the time. A corset can be abused just like shoes can be, or both corsets and shoes can correct or support issues rather than causing them. (My mom had a drop-foot shoe brace for the last decade of her life.) I could never imagine finding an "off the shelf" back brace that would fit me, but I can certainly imagine sewing one to do the job.

grandmother wore corset.  She said comfortable and best for active living.  Farm grandmother always doing active things like wrangle pigs when escape.

Fun video with "myth" and historical mythbusting.



Maybe myth come from improper wearing?
no under chemise
poor fitting corset
tight lace - corset for my grandmother should have gap in back and made for support, not shape.

Another interesting video you might know already is by Abby Cox:


It has something that made me thinking:
That today we think we are much freer and would not be enslaved by a thing such as a corset whereas... see yourself.
(And why does Bernadette Banner always talk so fast? I do understand everything but I find it very annoying.)

And actually ON the topic of corsets, LOL!  Has anyone seen a pattern for the combination bra/corset that ladies used to wear -- like my mother and grandmother's generation, probably?  I just did a brief search and couldn't find anything.

As my back and shoulders have continued to have sadness over the past few years, I’ve found myself wondering if a corset or similar would help provide support and/or relief for various aches and pains. Two pregnancies definitely did a number on some of my muscles, and I suspect there’s been some permanent ligament changes since the second one. Add to that all the computer work and I’m not a happy camper. Exercises help, but only so much.

Alas, since I had top surgery two years ago, I’m an extremely non-standard shape for typical women’s corsets. So I started wondering, did men wear corsets or stays historically? If so, was it a vanity thing or a practical thing, or both? If so, could I find a pattern that would work for my post-pregnancy, flat-as-a-board needs?

After a bit of digging, I found this article giving a brief history of men’s stays/corsets/health belts: https://matsukazesewing.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-brief-discussion-on-mens-stays.html It seems the answer is indeed, both - different styles for different needs/fashions, but a clear history of back support in there along with the fashionable uses.

The YouTube algorithm also saw fit to grace me with this video. I was delighted to hear the creator say that he was hoping his corset would help his back as well as his fashionable figure.



I need to work down my in-progress pile a bit before I commit to another sewing project, but I hope to get onto making myself a corset before the end of the year. I’ll report back here regardless once I’m able.

Kathleen Sanderson wrote:And actually ON the topic of corsets, LOL!  Has anyone seen a pattern for the combination bra/corset that ladies used to wear -- like my mother and grandmother's generation, probably?  I just did a brief search and couldn't find anything.

Could you describe what you mean a bit more? I’ve seen stays (a predecessor of the corset) that have straps and bra-like pouches for support in various museum archives, but I’m not sure if that’s what you’re after.

Laughing Moon does have this pattern for a Regency/Romantic era (1805-1840) corset that looks a bit like what you’re describing:  https://www.laughingmoonmercantile.com/product-page/115-download-regency-and-romantic-era-corset

I think Kathleen is looking for a pattern for something like this, a corset with cups. My first one was one of these.

Classic Merry Widow corset from the 1950's

And looking up "corset with cups pattern" gives a lot of results.

Yes!  That's exactly what I was looking for -- just needed the right search term!

I vaguely remember having one of those when I was in my mid-teens (would have been very early 1970's).  I doubt I wore it more than once or twice; I suspect the only reason I had it was because it was what Mom and Grandma were still wearing.  But I think the cups would eliminate the visible shelf that is a problem with most of the historical corsets, for someone who wanted to wear one with modern clothing.  And it seems like the whole contraption would provide better support for someone who was very active and wanted to minimize jiggling.

Kathleen Sanderson wrote:Yes!  That's exactly what I was looking for -- just needed the right search term!

I vaguely remember having one of those when I was in my mid-teens (would have been very early 1970's).  I doubt I wore it more than once or twice; I suspect the only reason I had it was because it was what Mom and Grandma were still wearing.  But I think the cups would eliminate the visible shelf that is a problem with most of the historical corsets, for someone who wanted to wear one with modern clothing.  And it seems like the whole contraption would provide better support for someone who was very active and wanted to minimize jiggling.

And, for those of us who struggle with wicked shoulder problems, it would eliminate the straps, without the typical feeling of being cut in two by a ridiculously tight rib band, without giving the uni-boob look of the sport tube bra. My only concern, which is likely one that can be avoided easily enough, is the super stiffness that prevents me from wearing other corsets.

Pearl Sutton wrote:

Robert Ray wrote:Great idea a back brace appropriately proportioned for a gal. They make back braces for dudes  and not necessarily proportioned for curves. Like left handed scissors.

It's not even just the proportions, it's where back injuries are most likely to take place. In my past experience as a massage therapist, I learned that guys are more likely to hurt certain areas of their backs, and women others, due to body mechanics differences. The back braces at the drugstores are made for protecting where guys tend to get hurt when lifting things, not where women tend to get injured by pregnancy or car wrecks.

 
As an active though somewhat limited by age and past injuries massage therapist specializing in posture pain problems, yes a support corset needs to be very individualized.  Basically you want to support where muscles and ligaments are inhibited by injury or adopted problematic postures.  Addressing some of the comments:  Restricting the lymphatic movement is a problematic negative.  So is inhibiting of muscle and ligament development to correct the problem.  Well developed industrial braces have elastic that can be tightened in the direction that support is needed and then released when activity will be non threatening.  Purpose of shoulder straps on these is to allow them to stay in place when they are loosened during nonsuppurative time.
Not only gender but other weight distribution considerations need to be considered.  The center of gravity needs to be located approximately between the spine at the bottom of the ribs and the navel and be able to shift position to be centered over the supporting foot or feet as one moves.  The most common injury leading to problems is the spinal junction between the thoracic and lumbar.  the symptoms often are not there but at the junction between the lumbar and pelvis or neck and shoulders as the body struggles to position the center of gravity without the proper curve and movement.  So restriction that creates more curve in the lumbar spine may help balance the weight on the chest and restriction of the abdomen may help distribute the weight so less stress is placed on the junction between the lumbar and pelvis.
I changed my employment path at 55 because these problems made me think I would not be able to live to 65 let alone work that long. I am now 83 and doing relatively well but still working on correcting the scar tissue that led to the problem.