What is the key to healthy living? We here it over and over - eat healthy food, exercise and get plenty of rest. The problem, of course, is breasts do not seem to have been created with exercise in mind...at least not for modern women.

Working out is good for you in many different, unique ways. Do you know the release of chemicals in the brain while exercising will actually lift your mood? Even basic walking can do the trick. A mere 30 minutes of cardio work that raises your heart rate to your optimal target range is enough to do the trick regardless of whether you are washing the car, walking or taking the dog to the park.

Of course if you want to really build up some stamina and burn some calories, you need to put a bit more effort into it. For women, this raises a serious issue. Nearly 60 percent of us report breast pain when exercising. This is problematic not only for the pain, but for the effect it has. How so? Well, we naturally shy away from things that cause us pain, so breast pain can lead to the cessation of exercise and that is not a good development.

Breast pain during or after exercise is the direct result of the movement of the breast as we exercise. Looking at the anatomy of the breast and how they are attached to the trunk of the body can be a real eye-opening event. Why? The attachment mechanisms are a set of ligaments known as the Cooper ligaments. That is pretty much all there is besides skin.

Ligaments are not like bones. They tend to move about when the weight they are supporting moves. When you exercise, the full body of your breasts start moving. This creates a tugging motion on the ligaments. Tugging will cause soreness and outright pain in many cases. It also leads to a permanent stretching of the ligaments, which means you'll have a sagging problem as time passes.

So, what can you do? The answer is found in the modern sports bra. It is the singularly most unattractive bra on the market. That is okay. It is not supposed to look good. it is supposed to provide maximum support and it does its job well. A good sports bra will reduce the motion of breasts during vigorous exercise by between 50 and 70 percent. This is accomplished by creating a compressed fit on the breasts that is firm. When you bounce up and down with each rotation of your legs, the breasts are held firmly up against the chest and bouncing is kept to a minimum. The lack of movement gives the Cooper ligaments a lot of help, which means pain is eliminated.

The old saying is you should eat health and exercise for a healthy life. For women, it should be amended to eat health, exercise and wear a sports bra! It is the only way to protect your breasts during exercise, so make sure you have a few in your bra collection.