Can You Wear a Supporter All Day? What You Must Know!

It's ironic that the very thing which keeps us healthy can also cause us significant harm. In short, exercise is dangerous, but if you have the right protective equipment, you lessen the danger. This leads to the question, can I wear a supporter all day? 

Yes, you can wear a supporter all day, but doing so presents as many risks as not wearing one when you're exercising. You wear a supporter to protect your genitals during exercise. So if you're not exercising, why are you still wearing protective gear? 

Should I Wear Supporter All the Day or Just During Gym?

The sports jockstrap is one of the most essential pieces of protective gear. Athletes wear it for all types of sports. Recently, athletes have begun to ask if they should wear it all day to keep their parts in place or if they should toss it to the side when they're done at the gym. 

You can definitely wear a supporter all day. The real question, though, is why do you want to wear a supporter all day? And what are the effects of doing so? 

Why Supporters Exist

The answers to these questions require a little bit of a history lesson first. 

In 1874 Chicagoan C.F. Bennett invented the jockstrap, commonly known as a supporter today. Bennett worked for Sharp & Smith, a Chicago sporting goods company. Bicycle jockeys who worked in Chicago and rode on the bumpy cobblestone streets needed a piece of equipment that provided them both comfort and support during their workday. 

Thus Bennett invented the supporter. It kept things where they should be and allowed the bicycle jockeys to do their jobs. Thirteen years later, Bennett formed the Bike Web Company and patented his invention. The company began mass-producing what they now deemed the Bike Jockey Strap. 

So Bennett invented the supporter for the purpose of keeping bouncing cyclists more comfortable and safe. He didn't know about hernias or the potential of impact to the groin during sports. He just wanted cyclists to be able to do their jobs. 

Thus jockstraps have more than one purpose. 

In fact, in the early 20th century, the supporter influenced the invention of the Heidelberg Electric Belt. This belt was an electric-powered supporter. Inventors claimed it could cure insomnia, kidney disorders, erectile dysfunction, and other illnesses. 

Supporters Today

We wear supporters today for other reasons.

They eliminate the uncomfortable bouncing that can come with high impact exercise. More importantly, though, they prevent injuries such as hernias. They provide a place for a protective cup, which prevents crush injuries to testicles and genitalia in general. 

Weight lifters don gloves to protect their hands and knee braces to keep their knees in line. They strap on weight belts to protect their backs from the strain. They use supporters in the same way, to protect a vital organ. 

When you do basic weight lifting moves like overhead tricep presses, dumbbell lifts for shoulders, and squatting, you stabilize your body with your lower abdominal muscles. Weight lifting puts a strain and pressure on those muscles. 

As you continue to weight lift, repeatedly, those muscles can weaken. As a result, fatty tissue will poke through the weak spot. This protrusion of fatty tissue is the basics of a hernia injury. 

A hernia occurs when your weakened abdominal wall allows tissue to poke through it. 

The simple garment of a supporter will prevent excessive bouncing. It protects your groin from heavy blows. Thus it reduces your risk of a hernia. 

You need a supporter in the gym. Without it, you're risking an injury that only surgery can fix. Plus, hernias really hurt. 

So then, it makes sense to wear a supporter in the gym. But why not wear one all day then? Why not keep things protected from dawn to dusk? 

Tight Drawers and Infertility

It's become popular among some subcultures to wear a supporter all day. Some people find it convenient. Others find it attractive. 

It leads to the question, though, is it healthy? 

The boxer versus brief debate is a good place to start when considering male genitalia health. Studies have shown that men who wore tight underwear had a lower sperm count and a lower concentration of sperm than men who wore boxers in the study. 

The men who donned the tight underwear presented with higher levels of a hormone that stimulates follicle. The pituitary gland releases this hormone to boost sperm production. Basically, their bodies were trying to make up for the lower sperm count. 

So if you wear a supporter all day, you can plan on having a lower sperm count and lower sperm concentration. This does not matter much if you're not planning on having children. However, if you see yourself as a family man, be aware of the effects of wearing tight material around your boys all day long. 

Is a Supporter Necessary For Exercise?

You should always wear a supporter when you're exercising. In the same way, that you wear a helmet to protect your head, you need to wear a supporter to protect your groin area. 

When you do not wear a protective cup inside your supporter, you run the risk of receiving a stiff kick to the groin. You could get hit with a ball or a helmet as well. Any single one of these blows can cause serious damage. 

At a minimum, you'd receive a bruise. At worst, you could fracture or rupture a testicle. Furthermore, you could receive a blow hard enough to cause testicular torsion. 

With testicular torsion, a testicle twists around itself. This then cuts off the blood supply to the testicle. Testicular torsion requires immediate medical attention. 

If a severe blow knocks the testicle into your public bone, your testicle could rupture. When this happens, the testicle will bleed into the scrotum. If you do not seek immediate medical attention for a ruptured testicle, you could lose the testicle altogether. 

You must wear a supporter and a protective cup whenever you're exercising in a way that could cause trauma to your groin. Also, if you're straining a part of your body doing weight lifting, you need a supporter. 

However, if you're just out for a run, you do not run the same risks as if you were playing hockey or if you are lifting massive amounts of weight.

Why Wear a Supporter During Exercise

Whenever you're exercising intensely, wear a supporter. This means cross fit exercising, cycling, team sports, and weight lifting. Not wearing a supporter could lead to a medical emergency. 

Evaluate your activity before you consider not wearing supporter. For example, what parts of your body are most at risk with this activity? If you're playing football, you'd wear a helmet because you know your head is vulnerable to injury and it's a precious part of your body. 

The same thought goes with your groin area. If you know your groin is at risk with the activity you've chosen, why wouldn't you protect it with a supporter. 

If you're still not sure if you need a supporter, talk to a doctor, a personal trainer, a coach, or another athlete who participates in the sport. They will give you sound advice. 

What If I Wear a Supporter All Day Instead of Underwear?

Supporters are slight tools that protect important things. So with that thought, you may wonder if you should just wear your supporter all day long. 

Some people will wear a supporter for fashion statements. Others will wear a supporter because they're just comfortable in it and like to have their male parts close and secure. Here are a few of the reasons why you want to consider wearing a supporter for a long period of time. 

Protection During a Sport

If your sport requires a lot of bouncing, jumping, and straining, wear the jock strap. It will keep you more comfortable and confident. You should plan on wearing it if you're running track and field or even just playing basketball. 

Plan on using a protective cup when you're in a sport with fast-moving balls like baseball or even hockey. The cup is a molded piece of rigid plastic or even metal. It fits inside the supporter pouch. 

If your event or activity takes most of the day, then keep the supporter on. But when you wear the supporter longterm, make sure it fits correctly. 

The strap itself should be tight enough to hold your testicles and penis next to your body. Your penis and testicles should not move out of the supporter during your activity. 

If you believe the jockstrap is too loose, wear a pair of compression shorts over the jockstrap. This will help keep your penis and testicles where they belong during your activity and give you the confidence you need to move freely.

An All-Day Fashion Statement

Today we have fashion jockstraps and sport jockstraps. They're just as much of a fashion statement as they are a sport necessity. When you consider a jockstrap fashionable, then wearing one all day makes sense. 

If you're going to wear a supporter for fashion, then you would not have to wear regular underwear. Many men are using supporters as underwear because they find them attractive and comfortable. 

The straps are usually shaped like your waist, so make sure you have a comfortable strap. Because a supporter is not manufactured by just one company any more, you can find multiple styles and designs. Pick a fabric that you find comfortable if you're planning on wearing your jockstrap all day. 

Should I Wear a Supporter On Underwear?

Most people do not wear underwear with their supporter. If you do want to wear underwear with your supporter, find some compression underwear that you can wear over the supporter. 

When you attempt to wear underwear under your supporter, the underwear will bunch up, and you'll be thinking about you drawers rather than your sport. You will be distracted and unable to perform. 

The Pros and Cons of Wearing a Supporter

As you can already see, wearing supporter has several benefits. Here's a basic layout of the pros and cons of wearing a supporter, be it for your sport or all day usage. 

The Pros

A supporter protects your ground area. You keep your testicles and penis close to you, and you protect them from the stress of bouncing around during the activity. 

As mentioned, you avoid a host of painful injuries that require surgery like testicular torsion and tesitcular rupture. You protect your ability to have children some day when you wear a supporter. 

If you participate in gymnastics, hockey, track, baseball,or football, you have the greatest risk of injury to your groin area. Use a supporter for these events. Use a cup if your penis is at risk for getting nailed with a ball or helmet. 

The Cons

Ironically, if your supporter is too tight, you can cause damage to your testicles in a similar way you can damage them if you receive a blunt trauma to your groin. 

If you put your cup into an ill-fitting supporter, you run the risk of causing damage because you are squishing your groin area. Then when you get hit by a ball, you can still receive trauma to your testicles and suffer from a rupture or torsion. 

Plus, some people just don't like the look of a jock strap. They're embarrassed to have bare hips and a bare butt in the gym when they're changing. 

Some people even just say that supporters are inconvenient because they require more technique when you put them on compared to underwear. 

Can I Wear a Supporter All Day?

Thus, you certainly can wear a supporter all day. You do not have to, though. It's completely up to you. 

To find the best supporters on the market, look at online reviews. Supporters vary in style and material, so find the best one for your body. 

For all of your sports equipment needs, contact us. We'd love to hook you up.