Today’s Bridal PSA: Those Too-Tight Spanx Aren’t Just Uncomfortable—They’re Actually Hurting Your Body

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Recently, Be Well Philly editor Emily Leaman IMed me, saying, “For your brides,” and then pasted a link into our conversation window.

Ladies, what that link held was some dark stuff. But she’s right. It’s best that you know.

(Deep breath.) Wearing Spanx wreaks havoc on your body.

I mean, any of us ladies who have worn a particularly unforgiving pair of these oh-so-beautiful, constricting undergarments have felt, at the very least, an inkling of such havoc, but just to really lay it all out there, Magee Rehab recently posted a piece on their blog that broke down all the damage, specifically. Here’s a snippet:

Digestion problems. When you eat while wearing your shape wear, your food has a hard time moving through your intestines. Intestines need room to fully contract and relax to move your food along, but shape wear compresses them. Difficulty digesting results in gas, bloating, nausea and heart burn. If you have irritable bowel syndrome, your IBS symptoms can worsen and you could have bowel incontinence. If you have acid reflux, shape wear that stops at the bra line will increase your likelihood to have reflux or will worsen your reflux.

Now, will this be our generation’s version of the crushed ribs, compromised lungs and shoved-up-against-the-spine organs suffered by Victorian women in their corsets? I doubt it, as Spanx aren’t nearly as scary, and we tend to only put them on for hours-long special occasions, as opposed to the second we wake up until the second someone unlaces us just before we go to bed. (And let’s be honest: Who among us is going to stop wearing them, either way? Not this lady.)

But it does mean it’s worth choosing whatever particular Spanx piece (reminder: there are billions) you are going to wear for your wedding carefully. Sit in it. Wear it around your house to see how it feels after a while. Take really deep breaths, and maybe even have a dance party in your living room just to see what a rough accompaniment it is to getting your groove on.

You’ll have enough reasons to feel faint on your wedding day. Your undies shouldn’t be one of them.

RELATED: Wearing Spanx Does Not Mean That I Am Opressed

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