The effect of female breast surface area skin stiffness and tactile sensitivity at rest and following exercise

Abstract

The skin is one of the breasts’ intrinsic support systems. Differences in skin mechanical properties, such as stiffness, may influence this. However, whether stiffness varies with breast size, and how this relates to tactile sensitivity remains unknown. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether exercise decreases breast skin stiffness or tactile sensitivity. The aim was to investigate breast-size dependent differences in skin stiffness and tactile sensitivity pre- and post-exercise in a heated environment.
Twenty females with varying breast sizes were recruited (breast surface area (BrSA) range=147.2-502.2cm2). Skin stiffness was measured using a MyotonPRO device 3cm above and below the areola edge and at the superior and inferior areola edge. Tactile detection thresholds were measured using von Frey’s monofilaments at the nipple and below nipple sites following the up-down method to find the smallest detectable monofilament. Participants were assessed pre- and post-exercise which consisted of a 50-minute run in a climatic chamber (32"℃" , 50% RH). Pearson correlation analyses were performed to assess the relationship with BrSA and 2-way ANOVA to assess the effect of exercise and skin site.

At rest, BrSA significantly positively correlated with skin stiffness 3cm above the areola edge (r=0.61, p=0.005) and at the superior areola border (r=0.54, p=0.016), but not below the nipple. No significant correlations existed between BrSA and tactile sensitivity. Dynamic exercise in the heat decreased skin stiffness by 72.6N/m (95%CI = +53.8, +91.4; p<0.001) and increased tactile sensitivity thresholds by 0.21g (p<0.045) across the breast, corresponding to a percentage reduction in skin stiffness of 24.7%, and tactile sensitivity by 44.9%.

These findings indicate that skin stiffness over the upper breast correlates with BrSA but did not correlate with tactile threshold detection. However, dynamic exercise in the heat significantly reduces skin stiffness and tactile sensitivity across the breast.

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ORCID for Hannah Blount: orcid.org/0000-0002-2419-1716

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