A sports bra is a bra that provides support to a woman's breasts during physical exercise. Sturdier than typical bras, they minimize breast movement and alleviate discomfort. Many women wear sports bras to reduce pain and physical discomfort caused by breast movement during exercise. Somesports bras are designed to be worn as outerwear during exercise such asjogging. There are also sports bras with extra padding for exercises thatinvolve some kind of trauma to the breasts. Sports bras can either encapsulateor compress breasts. Bras that encapsulate breasts have molded cups designed tofit around the majority of each breast. Bras that compress are designed torestrict movement by holding the breasts firmly against the body.Encapsulation-type bras are generally more effective at reducing discomfort,while compression bras may be more effective for high-intensity activities.Themost common sports bra is basically designed like a tank top with the bottomhalf cut off. Other designs use gel and water pads, silver fibres, and airbags. A stitch less bra was made by Wacoal, was molded, compressed, and shaped.A compressed bra is designed to push the breasts against the chest to reducemovement and bounce. Other bras are knitted in circular patterns, giving varyingstretch and support. A common design uses a stretchable, absorbent fabric suchas Lycra designed to reduce irritation by drawing perspiration away from theskin.Sports bras are also worn by women after certain surgical procedures. Inthose situations, a front-closing sports bra with a compression, seamless cupis recommended for healing and comfort. Certain fabrics such as Lycra have been found to help reduce swelling and help "even-out" a bust line that has been altered by a surgical procedure.