Garment that provides assistance during a leg motion

A garment configured to provide assistance during a leg motion, the garment comprising:

• a shorts body configured to be worn over a pelvic area of a wearer, the shorts body including a waist portion and at least one leg sleeve;
• and
• a framework supported by the shorts body, the framework including:
• a structured waistband coupled to the waist portion and configured to extend around the wearer;
• at least one anchor portion disposed at a distal end of the at least one leg sleeve;
• and
• a plurality of integrated elastic band sets supported by the shorts body;
• wherein the plurality of integrated elastic band sets are disposed at different positions on the garment and extend along different paths corresponding to different lower-body anatomical areas of the wearer;
• and
• wherein at least one of the plurality of integrated elastic band sets is configured to be stretched during a first leg movement of the wearer and to release stored elastic energy during a second leg movement of the wearer to assist at least one of movement and stabilization of a hip joint of the wearer.

A method of assisting leg motion of a wearer, the method comprising:

• providing a garment including a waist portion, at least one leg sleeve, a structured waistband attached to the waist portion, a plurality of anchor panels, and a plurality of elastic bands each extending between two selected attachment locations chosen from attachment locations on the structured waistband and the plurality of anchor panels;
• positioning the garment on the wearer;
• aligning the plurality of anchor panels with respective lower-body anatomical areas of the wearer;
• moving a leg of the wearer in a first direction to stretch at least one of the plurality of elastic bands;
• and
• moving the leg in a second direction such that stored elastic energy in the at least one stretched elastic band assists at least one of movement and stabilization of at least one of the wearer's hip joint and the wearer's knee joint.