You probably have a waist trainer on right now, or perhaps, you had one on a couple of hours ago. If not, at least on one occasion in the past, you rocked one.
Typically, we love waist trainers because they help accentuate our figures. Although waist trainers could give you an ‘hour-glass’ silhouette, a publication explains that the use of waist trainers daily and for prolonged hours could be dangerous.
Waist trainers have become the endorsed items for waist-training among celebrities and fitness buffs, promising a slimmer waistline to accentuate the user’s hips.
Waist trainer brands are springing up with strategies to push their products into the market. These fashion items have been in existence for a long time, although they went by a different name [corsets, etc] then.
Interestingly, corsets were also worn to shape the figure.
But could this aesthetic be a potential danger? An should you throw your waist trainer away or put up with the pain of being wrapped in it all day? After all, “beauty is pain” right?
In this article, we’ll be evaluating three reasons why waist trainers could be a health hazard to you.
1. Waist Trainers Could Bruise You
Even the waist trainer with the softest outer layer is built with coarse materials. This is because they are built to create a firm grip and impact that can hold together the user’s waists.
Long or continuous use of these trainers can bruise the skin around the waist and stomach region causing you intense discomfort and pain. What’s worse is that younger people who use waist trainers before reaching physical maturity can risk negative bone formation or development.
2. Waist Trainers Could Cause Respiratory Problems
It’s a no-brainer that something tight worn over a long period of time will obstruct proper breathing. This is the same when wearing waist trainers.
The rate at which waist trainers can cause breathing problems and can also make a person passes out. This is as a result of the restriction the waist trainer puts on your diaphragm thereby reducing the amount of oxygen a person breathes in.
Because the body systems [bloood pumping, etc] rely on oxygen, this could, in turn, cause the malfunction of body organs.
3. Waist Trainers Could Cause Skin Infection and Irritation
Having a tight clothing item such as a waist trainer pressing into your skin all day could cause irritation which could develop, if untreated, to infection on one’s skin. Some people have confessed to experiencing redness or irritation after using waist trainers for extended periods of time.
Irritations too can become painful and rather uncomfortable and they could leave ugly scars or patches on the skin.
Asides from the 3 points highlighted above, wearing waist trainers for an extended period of time could also cause digestive problems as the trainer obstructs and eventually block your digestive tract. You could additionally experience pain in your tigh which could lead to complications like Meralgia paresthetica.
Meralgia paresthetica is a condition characterized by numbness and tingling in a person’s outer tigh.
So, should you throw your waist trainer away?
While we cannot enforce this decision on you, we can only suggest you do what is best for your health — even while you try to “watch your weight” or have slimmer waists.
Honestly, if your goal is to have a slimmer waist, a good place to start is by paying attention to your diet and speaking with a dietitian.
The next step to take is to try out exercise routines that enhance the waistline.
Exercise routines like side planks which target obliques and transverse abs, bicycle crunches targeting the abdominal muscles, and leg raise targeting the rectus abdominis [abdominal muscle], are a few exercise routines to consider for slimmer waistlines.
But if you insist on keeping your waist trainer, wearing it for a reasonable amount of time can be a better alternative.