Comfortable pressure feeling and clothing pressure on abdomen

Purpose The present study obtained the topography of perceptible (a perfect-fit feeling) clothing pressures from the chest to groin, when a stretching material provided hoop tension to the body surface of participants. Furthermore, the allowable pressure level was examined for the abdomen, which is pressed by underclothes on a daily basis. Design/methodology/approach Participants were nine women aged 21.3 ± 1.2 years. Each participant's perception of pressure while wearing the experimental band was obtained in a questionnaire using a visual analog scale. Clothing pressure was measured employing a hydrostatic pressure-balancing method as participants adjusted the band length themselves to achieve two conditions: a perfect-fit and tight-fit on the abdomen. Findings The range of comfortable clothing pressure tightening provided by a 2.5 cm-wide elastic band on the abdomen was 0–5.6 hPa for under the bust, waist and groin, and 4.4–9.3 hPa for the chest, lower waist and hips. A nerve plexus of the autonomic nervous system and arteries are distributed over the body surface of the former body parts, which were thus sensitive to tightening around the abdomen. Originality/value The topography of perceptible clothing pressure was obtained when stretching material provided hoop tension to the body surface of the participant. The results of a participant questionnaire agreed with clothing pressure obtained using a hydrostatic pressure-balancing method that has a short-time constant and sensitive resolution. Furthermore, allowable pressure levels were proposed.