This has been on my mind for a while, and one of the reasons I don't like to wear my binder a lot. I'm usually pretty content with a sports bra (I'm fairly small as well, which helps), though it's not as effective as a binder and the straps are annoying as hell. Are there any long-term (health) problems that can occur from binding for years? If a person abides by all the rules of binding (no longer than 8hrs, take it off if it hurts, etc) can a person bind for years without long-term health problems?
Even binding with the proper rules like you mention, there is still some risk of problems...binding for long term breaks down skin elasticity in the chest, not sure how serious that is. As far as I'm aware, no other issues are guaranteed to happen, but I have heard of trans guys that followed all safety precautions and still had issues with stuff like chest pains and other health issues so it is a possibility. http://sci-hub.cc/10.1080/13691058.2016.1191675 Hope this link works right...assuming this study is trustworthy, it seems to show some possible risks from binding long term...go to page 8/9 for the list of risks. Not trying to say binding is dangerous or scare anyone off from it, just saying this could be a possibility.
Also one of the main problems is that long term binding can effect outcome of top surgery results. So if that's something you're considering in the future then I'd try to be careful.
The main reason it affects top surgery results,if I remember correctly, is mainly because the elasticity in your chest changes. I think it makes it harder for the chest to heal and form better after top surgery. However I know many people who've just ruined the elasticity in sports bras (myself included). Other than that I can't think of anything else besides shortness of breath
Well I could think of a few things, including deformity of the ribs or back because of all of the pressure. I've been binding for a year now and already I feel like my neck muscles have seen better days. But I don't know people personally who have done it for more than a few years, though I've read in a book by Ivan Coyote that they bound their chest for almost two decades before getting top surgery. They decided for it because their arm went numb though, so... :dry: I'm a bit worried about all of this.
