Many women can relate to mothers and grandmothers telling them “to suck in” their tummies when they were growing up. The thing is? Too much sucking in can lead to something called “hourglass syndrome.” Body-positive TikToker Nikki Garza says it’s something “so ridiculous you didn’t believe until you looked up.” She’s right – it’s a real syndrome.
- In Garza’s TikTok she lifted up her show to show her stomach area right below her breasts explaining its appearance resulted from squeezing in her stomach so much when she was young.
- Physical therapist Dr. Alexis Shoope confirmed the disorder to “BuzzFeed” explaining it as a result of overusing those muscles.
- “Typically, this occurs when someone is using their upper abs and external obliques a lot,” Shoope said. “It can be caused because someone is trying to ‘suck in’ and make their stomach look flatter, or it can occur because their upper abs are much stronger than their lower abdominals (the transverses abdominus),” she said.
Source: New York Post
Photo: Getty Images