An Item of Clothing and an Insert for an Item of Clothing

Abstract

An item of clothing arranged to protect a wearer’s torso from excessive bending and / or torsion, the item comprising a flexible substrate 110 and a plurality of rigid wall portions 120; wherein each wall portion is coupled to, and extends away from, one side of the substrate, and at least one of the wall portions has an associated opposing wall portion; and wherein the item is arranged so that movement of a portion of the substrate in a first direction by more than a threshold amount causes at least one wall portion to abut 130 its associated opposing wall portion to inhibit further movement of said portion of the substrate in the first direction for preventing excessive bending and / or torsion of the wearer’s torso. The walls may be arranged in a three dimensional pattern across the substrate (figure 4) to permit or prevent specific types of movement. The garment may protect a person horse riding from spinal injury.

Description

Technical Field The present disclosure relates to the field of clothing. In particular, the present disclosure relates to items of clothing for protecting a wearer against physical stresses being applied to their body, such as from excessive bending and / or torsion. Background The human spine can be susceptible to particular injuries when subjected to excessive load and / or stress. In particular, there are certain movements of a person’s spinal cord which should be avoided, as they may lead to damage of their spine and / or back muscles, as well as other parts of their body. Often, this will involve one portion of a person’s spine moving in a different way to another portion of their spine. For instance, rotation of one part of the spine in a different direction to which another part of the spine is rotated may cause serious injuries to a person. This is especially the case if this relative movement between different portions of the spine is significant (e.g. when there is a lot of movement / twisting etc.). One activity where this undesirable kind of movement can occur is when horse riding. For instance, when a rider falls off their horse, or when the horse itself falls over or moves in an unpredictable and / or unexpected manner, the rider’s spine may be subject to particularly damaging forces. This may include excessive bending and / or twisting of the rider’s body. In particular, one part of the rider’s back may move, twist and / or rotate significantly relative to another part of their back. This could cause serious harm to the rider. Examples of the present disclosure have been designed to provide improved support to a person’s body for protecting them against such undesirable movements occurring. Summary Aspects of the disclosure are set out in the independent claims and optional features are set out in the dependent claims. Aspects of the disclosure may be provided in conjunction with each other, and features of one aspect may be applied to other aspects. In an aspect, there is provided an item of clothing arranged to protect a wearer’s torso from excessive bending and / or torsion, the item comprising a flexible substrate and a plurality of rigid wall portions. Each wall portion is coupled to, and extends away from, one side of the substrate, and at least one of the wall portions has an associated opposing wall portion. The item is arranged so that movement of a portion of the substrate in a first direction by more than a threshold amount causes at least one wall portion to abut its associated opposing wall portion to inhibit further movement of said portion of the substrate in the first direction for preventing excessive bending and / or torsion of the wearer’s torso. Embodiments may provide an item of clothing which may permit some movement of the wearer’s torso, but which may prevent excessive movement thereof, such as movement in one or more certain directions which, if beyond a threshold amount, may cause injury to the wearer. Such an item may enable natural and safe movements of the wearer’s torso without significantly impeding this movement. However, the item may engage to prevent further movements which could cause injury to the wearer. The item may be worn for horse riding. The item may enable a wearer to experience a normal amount of support / resistance during ordinary motions (e.g. while riding normally), but the item may engage to provide additional support / resistance against unorthodox and potentially damaging motions (e.g. falling off the horse / the horse falling over). The wall portions may be arranged to provide an asymmetric profile for bending and / or torsion of the item. The wall portions may be arranged to enable more movement of said portion of the substrate in a second direction than in the first direction. For example, the wall portions may permit more bending forwards of the wearer’s body than bending backwards. In response to the wearer bending backwards by a threshold amount, the wall portions may abut to inhibit further bending backwards of the wearer. For example, the wall portions may not abut when the wearer bends forwards by the same amount. Movement of said portion of the substrate may comprises movement of a first portion of the substrate relative to a second portion of the substrate in response to bending and / or torsion applied to the item. The movement may comprise bending of the first portion relative to the second portion. Movement of one portion relative to another may comprise movement such that one portion moves closer to the other portion than they previously were. For example, both portions may move in a similar manner (e.g. in a similar direction), but one may move further than the other. A plurality of the wall portions may have associated opposing wall portions. For example, the item may comprise a support structure formed of a plurality of wall portions. At least some of the wall potions may be arranged to provide couples of wall portions (e.g. two or more associated opposing wall portions which may engage with each other in response to movement in the relevant direction by more than a threshold amount). Each of said wall portions may be located proximal to its associated opposing wall portion with at least a portion of its wall portion spaced apart from a portion of its associated opposing wall portion. Each of said wall portions may be spaced apart from, and runs parallel to, its associated opposing wall portion. Movement of said portion of the substrate in the first direction may cause a plurality of said wall portions to abut their associated opposing wall portions. Some of the wall portions may have associated opposing wall portions which extend in a different direction to others of the wall portions having associated opposing wall portions. The different directions of the wall portions may be selected to inhibit movement of portions of the substrate beyond a threshold amount in each of a plurality of different directions. The different wall portions may be arranged to provide a different threshold amount of movement for movement in the different directions. The wall portions may be connected to each other to form a plurality of polygons, wherein at least one of the wall portions of each polygon may have an associated opposing wall portion. Each wall portion of each polygon may be connected to another wall portion of that polygon at each of its ends to form the vertices of the polygon. Each polygon may include a plurality of support ribs arranged to couple together a central region of each of the wall portions of that polygon. The polygons may be tessellated together. Each polygon may be triangular or hexagonal. For example, each polygon may be triangular, and the triangles may be arranged to join together to define one or more hexagons. The wall portions for each polygon may form part of the same component. For example, each polygon may be provided by a block of material, and the wall portions may be provided by the walls of said block of material. For example, each polygon may be a single piece of material which defines several walls (which set the shape of the polygon). The single piece of material may also provide connecting regions of material extending between the walls. For example, this may provide a plurality of polygon blocks of material. Each polygon block of material may provide a plurality of wall portions. At least some of these blocks of material may include one or more vent holes (e.g. to increase venting of air through the block of material. Each block of material may comprise a single piece of material which defines the wall portions of the polygon, and which includes material extending therebetween. For example, each polygon may be formed of a block of material, wherein the material extends between the wall portions of said polygon. Each polygon and its wall portions may be formed of a single piece of material. At least one of the polygons may have one or more vent holes provided in the material of said polygon. The block of material may be hollow. For example, the block of material may include a plurality of wall portions with a roof portion connecting the wall portions of the polygon (e.g. but with no, or less, material inside the polygon blocks). The substrate may be arranged to provide a resistance to bending of the substrate in the first direction which increases in magnitude with an increased amount of bending in the first direction. The substrate may be arranged to so that resistance to bending of the substrate in the first direction increases in magnitude with increased bending up to the point at which one or more wall portions abut their associated opposing wall portions to impede further bending of the substrate in the first direction. For example, one or more of: (i) the thickness of substrate between the two wall portions, (ii) a shape of the substrate in that region, and / or (iii) a stiffness of the substrate in that region, is selected to provide the increased resistance to bending of wall portions in that region. A shape of the substrate may correspond to the arrangement of the wall portions such that a material of the substrate extends between each of the wall portions and its associated opposing wall portion. Adjacent, non-opposing wall portions may be separated from each other by one or more regions with no wall material. The substrate may have holes in those regions. The item may include a filler material provided within the regions between the wall portions with no wall material. The filler material may be provided by a one-piece construction comprising a plurality of protrusions. The construction may be shaped based on the arrangement of the wall portions so that its protrusions correspond to the regions between the wall portions with no wall material. For example, the filler material may comprise a separate component which is sized and shaped to correspond to the wall portions. For example, material of the filler may extend into regions between wall portions of the same polygon where there is no material of the polygon present. The filler material may include a base, and a plurality of protrusions and valleys. The filler may be formed of a foam material. The filler may be approximately the same dimensions as the support structure. The base may be a similar size and shape to the support structure. The protrusions may be regions where the filler material extends away from the base. The valleys may be regions where there is no filler material extending away from the base. The protrusions and valleys may be shaped to correspond to the structure of the wall portions of the support structure. The filler may be aligned with the support structure so that the protrusions and valleys of the filler respectively correspond to the voids and wall portions of the support structure. That is, the filler may be at least partially inserted into the support structure, so that the protrusions extend into the voids of the support structure, and the walls of the support structure extend into the valleys of the filler. A second filler structure may also be provided. The second filler may be provided on the other side of the support structure. That second filler may comprise a layer of filler material, and / or it may include corresponding protrusions and recesses (e.g. so that both fillers may extend into the support structure). The item of clothing may therefore be formed with fabric layers enclosing the support structure and optionally one or two filler structures aligned with the support structure. At least some of the plurality of wall portions may be arranged to overlie the wearer’s back. The wall portions may be arranged with larger polygons of wall portions overlying an upper portion of the wearer’s spine and smaller polygons for overlying a lower portion of the wearer’s spine. At least some of the plurality of wall portions may be arranged to overlie the wearer’s front. The wall portions may be arranged to overlie the ribs and / or collarbones. At least one of: (i) a height to which the wall portions extend away from the substrate, (ii) a spacing between the wall portions and their associated opposing wall portions, (iii) a length which the wall portions or a wall structure of which the wall portions are part extends away from the opposing wall portion, may be selected to provide a chosen value for the threshold amount of movement in the first direction. The item may be arranged to inhibit a wearer from bending backwards beyond a threshold amount. The item may be arranged to enable the wearer to bend forwards beyond more than a corresponding threshold amount. At least one of: (i) a front side of the item may be shorter than a back side of the item, and (ii) the backside of the item may taper down to a thinner width towards its bottom end. The item of clothing may be a protection garment for horse riding. The substrate and wall portions may be arranged to inhibit rotation of the thoracic spine relative to the lumbar spine. In an aspect, there is provided an insert for an item of clothing for protecting a wearer’s torso from excessive bending and / or torsion, the insert comprising a flexible substrate and a plurality of rigid wall portions. Each wall portion is coupled to, and extends away from, one side of the substrate, and at least one of the wall portions has an associated opposing wall portion. The insert is arranged so that movement of a portion of the substrate in a first direction by more than a threshold amount causes at least one wall portion to abut its associated opposing wall portion to inhibit further movement of said portion of the substrate in the first direction. The insert may include any of the features disclosed herein in relation to the item of clothing. Figures Some examples of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the figures, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an item of clothing. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a support structure. Figs. 3a to 3e are schematic diagrams illustrating how a support structure reacts to being moved into different positions. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a portion of a support structure. Fig. 4 also includes cross-sectional views taken along the lines A-A and B-B. Fig. 5 shows an insert for an item of clothing. Figs. 6a and 6b show schematic diagrams of an item of clothing including a support structure. In the drawings like reference numerals are used to indicate like elements. Specific Description The present disclosure relates to the use of a support structure for providing support to a person’s body in response to certain movements of their body. The support structure may be provided as part of an item of clothing which a person wears (such as a top), or it may be provided as part of an insert for an item of clothing so that, when inserted into the item of clothing, it provides additional support to a person wearing that item. The structure includes one or more wall portions which, if moved in a certain direction by a certain amount, will abut with one or more other wall portions. The abutting wall portions will act to reinforce each other to inhibit further movement in that direction. The item may contain a plurality of wall portions which may abut other wall portions in response to movement in certain directions by more than certain amounts. These wall portions will be distributed about the item of clothing to inhibit certain undesirable movements from occurring. In particular, the item of clothing may be for a wearer’s torso, and the wall portions may interact to inhibit excessive bending and / or torsion of the wearer’s torso (e.g. to protect the wearer from seriously injuring their back due to excessive relative movement between different portions of their back or spine). An example of an item of clothing will first be described with reference to Fig. 1 After that, examples of support structures will be described which could be implemented into an item of clothing, such as the item shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 1 shows an item of clothing 10. The item 10 has a front side 12 and a back side 14. The item 10 also includes one or more means for coupling the front side 12 to the back side 14, shown as straps 16 and securing portions 18 in Fig. 1. The item 10 is a top for a wearer’s torso. As shown in Fig. 1, the top may be a vest, and may not have sleeves. The front side 12 is connected to the back side 14 over the shoulders. For example, the front side 12 and back side 14 may be formed from the same piece of material. The material down the side portions of the front side 12 (underneath the armpit region) may not be connected to the corresponding portions of the back side 14. The straps 16 and securing portions 18 may be provided to enable the side portions of the front side 12 to be secured to the corresponding side portions of the back side 14. For example, the securing portions 18 may be attached to the back side 14, and the straps 16 may be attached to the front side 12. To put the item 10 on, a wearer may put their head through the head hole, and connect the side portions of the front side 12 and back side 14 to each other beneath their armpits using the straps 16 and securing portions 18. The securing portions 18 may comprise a hoop, and each strap 16 may be inserted through the hoop and back upon itself where it may be affixed to the front side 12 (e.g. using hook and loop fasteners to attach the strap 16 to itself). The item 10 of clothing may be a protective item for horse riding. The item 10 may be sized so that it may be worn under another item of riding clothing, such as under a rider’s jacket (blazer). When riding, a rider may adopt a riding position in which they lean forward. In this position, their back may be rounded as well. The item 10 is arranged to enable a wearer to adopt this position without resistance, or with minimal resistance. For this, the front side 12 may be shorter than the back side 14. The front side 12 may not extend all the way to a wearer’s waist. Instead, the front side 12 may extend down past a wearer’s ribs. For example a bottom portion of the front side 12 may be overlie a rider’s stomach. The back side 14 may be tapered at the bottom, so that it decreases in width further down the wearer’s back. The back side 14 may cover the majority of the length of the rider’s spine. For example, a bottom most portion of the back side 14 may be located towards the bottom end of the wearer’s spine (e.g. towards their coccyx). The item 10 of clothing also includes a support structure for providing additional structural support to the item 10 of clothing. This structure is not shown in Fig. 1, but examples of support structures for such an item 10 of clothing are described in more detail below with reference to Figs. 2 to 6. The support structure is arranged to protect the wearer from excessive bending and / or torsion. For instance, the support structure may be arranged to provide protection against potentially harmful movements of a wearer’s spine. For this, the support structure may be arranged to inhibit a wearer’s spine from bending backwards too far. Additionally, or alternatively, the support structure may be arranged to inhibit too much rotation of a wearer’s spine. Inhibiting too much rotation may comprise inhibiting rotation about the longitudinal axis of the wearer’s spine (e.g. twisting of the spine), and / or it may comprise inhibiting excessive leaning to either side for the wearer’s spine. The support structure may also provide protection for other regions of the wearer’s body, such as their ribs and / or collarbones (on the front side 12), and / or regions of their back away from the spine (on the back side 14). It will be appreciated that, as all of these regions are ultimately connected to the wearer’s spine, inhibiting excessive rotation / torsion in any of these regions, may also inhibit excessive rotation / torsion being applied to the wearer’s spine. Similarly, the support structure may be arranged to inhibit excessive compression of the wearer’s spine. For example, by inhibiting excessive bending backwards of the wearer’s spine, the support structure may also inhibit excessive shortening (e.g. under compression) of the wearer’s spine. As such, the support structure may be arranged to inhibit one or more of these undesirable movements from occurring. In particular, the support structure is arranged to provide an increased resistance to these movements with increased movement in said undesirable direction. As will be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure, while excessive bending backwards of a person’s spine may cause serious injury, a small amount of bending backwards may not have any deleterious effects on that person. The support structure may enable smaller movements in the undesirable direction(s) to occur without providing much, if any, resistance to those movements. This may provide increased comfort for a wearer during normal use when wearing the item 10. The support structure may begin to increase resistance to movement in an undesirable direction after there has been a certain amount of movement in that direction. As the movement in an undesirable direction reaches a threshold amount of movement, the support structure may fully engage to inhibit any further movement in that undesirable direction. As such, in response to movement of a threshold amount in an undesirable direction (e.g. excessive bending backwards or twisting of the wearer’s spine), the support structure may engage to inhibit any further movement of the wearer’s body in that direction. The support structure may thus inhibit the wearer’s body from being subjected to excessive stresses (e.g. excessive compression, bending or torsional forces / torques). The support structure may be arranged to provide an asymmetric profile for resistance to movement. In other words, the support structure may inhibit bending and / or torsion of the item 10 more in some directions than in others. For example, the item 10 may be permitted to move or bend freely in certain directions, yet movement in other directions may be inhibited once that movement reaches a threshold amount. The item 10 may also be arranged so that the amount of resistance to movement in undesirable directions may increase with increased movement in that direction up to the point at which further movement in that direction is inhibited by the support structure. In examples where the item 10 is a top to be worn to protect a wearer’s torso from excessive bending and / or torsion (e.g. during horse riding), the item 10 may be arranged to inhibit rotation of the wearer’s thoracic spine relative to their lumbar spine by more than a threshold amount. The item 10 may also be arranged to inhibit excessive bending backwards of the wearer’s spine and / or excessive compression of their spine. For each of these inhibited movements, the threshold amount of movement may be set to a distance which is less than a distance at which the movement may injure the wearer. This threshold amount of movement may be more than zero though (e.g. to permit some, but not lots, of movement in the relevant direction). While the item 10 is arranged to inhibit movement in one or more particular directions by more than a threshold amount, the item 10 may also freely permit movement in other remaining directions. In particular, a wearer may be able to lean forwards and / or curl their spine forwards without the support structure inhibiting further movement in this direction. During use, a rider may wear the top for protection while horse riding. For example, the top may be worn under their jacket. During normal motion, the top will act to provide minimal resistance against any of their movements. As a result, the rider may not feel overly impeded by the top while they are riding under normal conditions. In the event of an accident, such as the rider falling off the horse, the rider may be forced towards a more unnatural and damaging position for their body, such as their spine twisting excessively, or being bent backwards excessive. However, as the rider’s body begins to move in the relevant direction (e.g. bending backwards), the support structure will begin to engage, and will ultimately inhibit any further movement of their body in that relevant direction once it has moved by a threshold amount. With the support structure engaged, the forces will be distributed throughout the support structure, rather than being imparted directly into the rider’s body. As such, excessive force or torque being applied to the rider will be distributed away from their spine and into the support structure of the item 10. This will inhibit movement of the wearer’s spine into an excessively unnatural and / or contorted position, which will help to reduce the likelihood and / or severity of any injury brought about by this movement. Examples of support structures which may provide this functionality will now be described with reference to Figs. 2 to 6. Each of these support structures may be used in the item 10 of clothing of Fig. 1. Fig. 2 shows a support structure 100. The support structure 100 includes a substrate 110 and a plurality of wall portions 120. Each wall portion 120 is separated from a neighbouring wall portion 120 by a gap 130. Also shown in Fig. 2 is a first fabric layer 101 and a second fabric layer 102. Fig. 2 shows a cross-section view. The support structure 100 is sandwiched between the first fabric layer 101 and the second fabric layer 102. One of these fabric layers will provide a wearer facing side of the item 10, and the other of these fabric layers will be on an away facing side of the item 10 (on the side of the item 10 further away from the wearer). In the example of Fig. 2, the first fabric layer 101 will be on a wearer facing side, e.g. to cover their back. The wall portions 120 are coupled to, and extend away from, the substrate 110. Each wall portion 120 is rigid. The substrate 110 is flexible. The substrate 110 may be formed of Nylon. In Fig. 2, the support structure 100 is shown in a passive state (e.g. the structure 100 is not engaged to inhibit further movement). In this example, the passive state corresponds to the substrate 110 being flat. Each of the wall portions 120 extend away from a first side of the substrate 110. As the substrate 110 is in a flat state, the wall portions 120 are parallel with each other as they extend away from the substrate 110. The wall portions 120 are distributed about the substrate 110, with a gap 130 between each adjacent wall portion 120 and an associated opposing wall portion 120. Fig. 2 shows the wall portions 120 uniformly distributed about the substrate 110, with each wall portion 120 adjacent to two other wall portions 120. However, as will be described in more detail in relation to Figs. 4, 5 and 6 below, this need not be the case. Similarly, in Fig. 2, all of the wall portions 120 are shown at the same height (e.g. they extend from the substrate 110 by the same distance), but this need not be the case. Each wall portion 120 extends from a proximal region to a distal region. The proximal region of each wall portion 120 is coupled to the substrate 110. The proximal region is attached to the substrate 110 so that the two move together. The distal region of each wall portion 120 is located away from the proximal region. The wall portions 120 may be uniform thickness along their length from proximal to distal region. The distal region is free to move relative to the substrate 110 (e.g. it may not be coupled to any other component). The distal region of each wall portion 120 is separated from its adjacent wall portion 120 by a gap 130. The gap 130 may separate the wall portion 120 from its adjacent wall portion 120 along the length of the wall portion 120 (e.g. from proximal region to distal region). The substrate 110 is arranged to bend with movement of a wearer. When being worn by a wearer, the substrate 110 will lie adjacent to a region of the wearer’s body, such as their back. As that region of the wearer’s body moves, e.g. bends, so too will the substrate 110. As such, the substrate 110 will remain approximately parallel to the region of the wearer’s body to which it is adjacent when worn. The substrate 110 is arranged so that different portions of the substrate 110 may move relative to each other. For example, regions of the substrate 110 may bend or twist, while other regions of the substrate 110 remain static. Each wall portion 120 is coupled to the substrate 110 at its proximal region so that any movement of the substrate 110 at or near to the location where the proximal region of the wall portion 120 is coupled to the substrate 110 will cause a corresponding movement of that wall portion 120. The substrate 110 is arranged so that such movement of the substrate 110 (and thus wall portion 120) may occur relative to other portions of the substrate 110 (and thus other wall portions 120). For example, other wall portions 120 may remain unmoved, or may move by a greater or lesser amount, depending on any movement of the substrate 110 at locations where those wall portions 120 couple to the substrate 110. The support structure 100 is arranged so that each wall portion 120 may move relative to other wall portions 120 in response to movement of the substrate 110. For example, a rotation of the substrate 110, e.g. a bending or twisting motion, will cause a corresponding rotation of the wall portions 120 - e.g. a rotation of the wall portion 120 in the same direction of the bending or twisting. The support structure 100 is arranged so that each wall portion 120 has at least one associated opposing wall portion 120. The associated opposing wall portion 120 for a given wall portion 120 is another wall portion 120 which is positioned closely to the given wall portion 120. The two wall portions 120 may be arranged adjacently to each other, but offset by a gap 130. The two wall portions 120 may be aligned with each other, e.g. they may run parallel to each other. The two wall portions 120 form a couple of opposing wall portions 120 in the sense that movement of a first of the wall portions 120 in a first direction will cause the first wall portion to abut the second wall portion. Similarly, movement of the second wall portion in a second direction will cause the second wall portion to abut the first wall portion. In other words, each couple of associated opposing wall portions 120 may be arranged to interact with each other (e.g. to abut each other) in response to one or more selected movements of the substrate 110. The support structure 100 is arranged so that, once two opposing wall portions 120 have been moved towards each other so that they are in contact with one another, further movement of the wall portions 120 in the same direction is inhibited. That is, the wall portions 120 are coupled to the substrate 110 so that, as the two wall portions 120 abut, the rigid nature of the wall portions 120 prevents any further movement of the flexible substrate 110 in the same direction. As such, the flexible substrate 110 will effectively act as a rigid substrate 110 to any further movement of the substrate 110 in the direction which caused the two wall portions 120 to abut (in the region of the substrate 110 where those two wall portions 120 are located). Any movement of the flexible substrate 110 in the direction which led to the two wall portions 120 abutting will be inhibited. In turn, this will inhibit this motion occurring to the item of clothing 10, and thus also to the wearer wearing that item of clothing 10. With two associated opposing wall portions 120 abutting each other, the support structure 100 will be in an engaged state (where further relative movement of the support structure 100 is inhibited). The substrate 110 may be moved back towards its passive state by moving in a direction opposite to that which brought the two wall portions 120 into contact. The support structure 100 is arranged with the associated opposing wall portions 120 aligned so as to inhibit selected undesirable movements from occurring. For example, the wall portions 120 may run perpendicular (or at least approximately perpendicular) to a direction of movement they are arranged to inhibit. As such, in response to movement in that direction, the first and second wall portions 120 which abut may abut along the majority of their width (e.g. along the entirety of their width). The arrangement of the wall portions 120 may be selected to provide support to certain areas of the wearer’s body when the item 10 is being worn. For example, the opposing wall portion couples may be located in regions where excessive relative movement should be inhibited, such as in line with a wearer’s spine. The height of the wall portions 120 and / or the size of gap 130 may be chosen to select the threshold distance of relative movement before the support structure 100 engages (two wall portions 120 abut) to inhibit further movement. For example, decreasing the size of the gap 130 between distal regions of opposing wall portions 120 and / or increasing the height to which those wall portions 120 extend away from the substrate 110, may act to decrease the amount of relative movement permitted before the two wall portions 120 abut to inhibit further movement in that direction. The support structure 100 may be arranged to provide differing amounts of support in different regions of the item of clothing 10. In other words, the support structure 100 may be arranged to permit more relative movement in some areas of the item 10 than in others. For example, regions of the support structure 100 which will overlie the wearer’s spine may provide more support than other regions (e.g. opposing wall portions 120 which overlie the wearer’s spine may abut in response to less movement than opposing wall portions 120 which overlie a region of the wearer’s sides). In Fig. 2, the wall portions 120 and the substrate 110 are shown as different components. However, it will be appreciated that this need not be the case. For example, the wall portions 120 and the substrate 110 could be provided by a single structure (e.g. a one-piece construction may provide both the substrate 110 and the wall portions 120). Alternatively, a two-piece construction could be used (e.g. with one material / construction for the substrate 110 and another for each of the wall portions 120). Also, in Fig. 2, the first fabric layer 101 is shown as being coupled to the substrate 110, but the second fabric layer 102 is not shown as coupled to the wall portions 120. However, it will be appreciated that either or both of the fabric layers could be coupled to other components of the support structure. For example, the second fabric layer 102 could be coupled to the wall portions 120 (in addition to, or as well as, the first fabric layer 101 being coupled to the substrate 110). For example, either or both fabric layers could be stitched to one or more relevant components (e.g. the first fabric layer 101 could be stitched to the substrate 110 and / or the second fabric layer 102 could be stitched to the wall portions 120). Reference will now be made to Figs. 3a to 3e to describe operation of the support structure 100 in response to different motions of the support structure 100. In Figs. 3a to 3e, the support structure 100 is provided as part of an item of clothing 10 being worn on a wearer’s body 24. In these examples, the item 10 will be covering the wearer’s back. The item 10 extends away from the wearer’s back with the substrate 110 closer to their back, and the wall portions 120 extending away therefrom. Fig. 3a effectively shows the same arrangement as in Fig. 2. In this example, the portion of the wearer’s body 24 shown in the Fig. is approximately flat. In other words, there are no substantial bends or curves, as this portion of their back may be extending in roughly a straight line (e.g. vertically). A first couple 141 of two associated opposing wall portions 120 are shown. The couple includes a first wall portion 121a and a second wall portion 121b. The first wall portion 121a is separated from the second wall portion 121b by a first gap 131. The first and second wall portion 121b are arranged as a couple of associated opposing wall portions so as to selectively engage with each other in response to movement above a threshold amount in a selected direction, as will be shown in Figs. 3b and 3c. Fig. 3b shows the structure 100 with some movement of the wearer’s body 24. The arrow shows the direction of movement, which is a clockwise rotation at the top part of the body 24 shown in Fig. 3b. For example, this may represent a portion of the wearer’s spine beginning to bend backwards. The bending is located to a particular region at the top end of the body 24. As a result, the substrate 110 has also bent in that region, but not in other regions. The first wall portion 121a moves with the bending substrate 110, and so the first wall portion 121a has started rotating clockwise. Movement in this direction of the first wall portion 121a brings the first wall portion 121a towards the second wall portion 121b. As such, the gap has reduced in size compared to the gap of Fig. 3a, but there is still at least some gap between the first wall portion 121a and the second wall portion 121b. Fig. 3c shows the structure 100 in response to further movement in the same direction. In Fig. 3c, the movement in this direction (e.g. the rotation clockwise), has reached the threshold amount of movement, and so the first wall portion 121a is now abutting the second wall portion 121b. This abutment of the first wall portion 121a with the second wall portion 121b will effectively act to rigidify the substrate 110 in the region where the first wall portion 121a is coupled to the substrate 110. As such, in that region, the substrate 110 may not bend any further in the same direction. In turn, the item of clothing 10 may act to reinforce the wearer’s back to inhibit any further bending backwards of their back in that direction. Fig. 3d shows an example where there are additional movements of the wearer’s body 24 which have imparted a corresponding movement to the substrate 110. For example, further bending backwards of the wearer’s back has occurred, and this has occurred at several different points along the length of their back. As a result, different portions of the substrate 110 have bent relative to each other, and a number of the wall portions have also bent towards each other. In so doing, a number of the wall portions have come into contact with each other and are abutting to inhibit any further movement of those wall portions and their respective portions of the substrate 110 in the direction which led to the wall portions abutting. In the example shown in Fig. 3d, all of the wall portions are abutting, and so all further movement of the substrate 110 and wall portions in that direction is inhibited. Where the item 10 is worn on a wearer’s back, any further bending backwards of their back will be inhibited. The length of the wall portions and the gaps between them may be selected so that this maximum allowed amount of movement (e.g. maximum extent of bending backwards) occurs at less movement than that which would begin to cause damage to the wearer’s body 24. For example, the wearer may not be able to bend their back far enough backwards to cause themselves harm. Fig. 3e shows the structure 100 where a different direction of movement occurs. In this example, the movement is in a forward direction, such as when a wearer rounds their back forwards. As this nature of movement may be less likely to cause substantial injury to the wearer, the support structure 100 may permit this movement. As can be seen in Fig. 3, the gap between adjacent wall portions increases rather than decreases with further forwards movement of the wearer. As such, the corresponding movement of the substrate 110 may cause the wall portions to move in such a way that they do not move to abut each other. Rather, the wall portions move away from each other such that further movement in this direction is permitted. The wearer may thus be able to bend or lean forwards freely (without any substantial resistance to that movement), but as soon as their back bends backwards by the threshold amount, the support structure 100 will engage to inhibit further bending backwards. As a result, the item 10 may provide protection against potentially damaging movements, while avoiding being overly restrictive to the wearer during normal and much lower risk movements. Another example of a support structure will now be described with reference to Fig. 4. As with the examples described above, the support structure of Fig. 4 may be used in the example item of clothing 10 shown in Fig. 1. The support structure of Fig. 4 follows a similar approach to that shown in Fig. 2, but, as will be described in more detail below, the structure shown may provide support varying amounts of support against different types / directions of relative movement. Fig. 4 shows a support structure 100. Fig. 4 shows the support structure 100 in plan view, as well as with two cross-sectional diagrams for the support structure 100. A first cross section is along the line A-A, and a second cross-section is along the line B-B. The cross sections show how the height of the material varies along the length of that cross-section line. Although not shown, the support structure 100 will be provided with the wall portions on a flexible substrate 110. The cross-sectional views along the lines A-A and B-B may start from a top surface of the substrate 110 (e.g. everything shown in the cross-sections is that which is located at or above the top surface of the substrate 110). The support structure 100 of Fig. 4 includes a plurality of wall portions. Wall portions of the structure 100 are grouped together to form wall structures. Each wall structure is formed of a plurality of wall portions. The different wall portions of a wall structure are joined together to form shapes for the wall structure. For example, each wall portion may itself be in the form of a straight line, but a number of those straight lines are coupled together to define a polygonal wall structure. Each vertex of the wall structure may be the region where two wall portions are joined together. Each wall structure may be a single piece structure, or it may be formed of a series of wall portions which have been attached to each other (e.g. adhered together). Fig. 4 shows five different wall structures although only one of these can be viewed in full in Fig. 4. That is, Fig. 4 shows a first wall structure 121. The first wall structure 121 is located in a central region in the portion of the support structure 100 shown in Fig. 4. Four other wall structures are shown in Fig. 4. These are: second wall structure 122, third wall structure 123, fourth wall structure 124 and fifth wall structure 125. These four wall structures surround the first wall structure 121. Each of the wall structures is formed from a plurality of wall portions. In this example, each of the wall structures is formed of four wall portions (although only three of these are shown for the second to fifth wall structures in Fig. 4). The first wall structure 121 has four wall portions: first wall portion 121a, second wall portion 121b, third wall portion 121c, and fourth wall portion 121d. For the four other wall structures shown in Fig. 4, each of these has an opposing wall portion 122a, 123b, 124c, 125d, as well as additional wall portions 122’, 122”, 123’, 123”, 124’, 124”, 125’, 125”. In the example shown, there are four couples of associated opposing wall portions. A first couple 140a is formed from the first wall portion 121a of the first wall structure 121 and the opposing wall portion 122a of the second wall structure 122. A second couple 140b is formed from the second wall portion 121b of the first wall structure 121 and the opposing wall portion 123b of the third wall structure 123. A third couple 140c is formed from the third wall portion 121c of the first wall structure 121 and the opposing wall portion 124c of the fourth wall structure 124. A fourth couple 140d is formed from the fourth wall portion 121 d of the first wall structure 121 and the opposing wall portion 125d of the fifth wall structure 125. The wall portions of the first couple 140a are separated by a first gap 130a. The wall portions of the second couple 140b are separated by a second gap 130b. The wall portions of the third couple 140c are separated by a third gap 130c. The wall portions of the fourth couple 140d are separated by a fourth gap 130d. In other words, the support structure 100 includes a plurality of different couples of associated opposing wall portions. The wall portions of the structure are connected to each other to define a plurality of wall structures. The wall structures are shaped based on the different constituent wall portions which form that wall structure. The different wall portions of a wall structure may be connected to each other to form a polygonal shaped structure. The wall portions in each couple oppose one another and are separated from each other by a gap. The wall portions in the couple extend in the same direction across the substrate 110. For example, the wall portions in a couple run substantially parallel to each other (e.g. the gap between them remains constant along the length of the wall portions in the direction which they extend across the substrate 110). The different couples of wall portions of the support structure 100 may extend along the substrate 110 in different directions. The gaps for different couples may be different in size, and / or the height of different wall portions may differ in different couples. The support structure 100 may be arranged to inhibit movement in several different directions above a threshold amount, where the threshold amount may differ depending on the direction. Also shown in Fig. 4 are supporting ribs 151a, 151b of the first wall structure 121. Between the supporting ribs 151a, 151b and the wall portions of the first wall structure 121 are voids 152. The supporting ribs 151a, 151b extend from a central region of each wall portion of the first wall structure 121. The supporting ribs 151a, 151b couple together different wall portions of the same wall structure. In Fig. 4, the supporting ribs 151a, 151b couple together wall portions on opposite sides of the wall structure. The voids 152 are portions of the wall structures where the wall structure has no material. The voids 152 are in the regions between supporting ribs 151a, 151b and wall portions. The supporting ribs 151a, 151b are arranged to distribute forces between the different wall portions of the wall structure. The support ribs 151a, 151b may act to reinforce a wall portion which is abutting its opposing wall portion (e.g. to provide increased support to withstand the pressure being applied to that wall portion by virtue of its opposing wall portion). The support ribs 151a, 151b may act to reinforce a wall portion which is adjacent to a wall portion which is under pressure from its opposing wall portion (e.g. to provide support against that wall portion distorting under the pressure being applied to its adjacent wall portion). In other words, the supporting ribs 151a, 151b may be arranged to withstand distortion of the shape for the wall structure. The wall portions of the wall structures are arranged to align with wall portions of other wall structures to form couples of opposing wall portions. The different shapes of wall structures may stack together so that the wall portions of the wall structures will align with other opposing wall portions, and the wall structures may fill all of the available space for the support structure 100. For example, the wall structures may be arranged to tesselate with each other. In the portion of the support structure 100 shown in Fig. 4, the wall structures are square, but other shapes may be used. The shapes are arranged so that the couples of opposing wall portions extend in at least two different directions across the substrate 110. As such, there will be couples arranged to inhibit relative movement in different directions. The opposing wall portions of each couple run parallel to each other. A gap is defined between each couple of opposing wall portions. The gaps may be of different sizes. The height of the wall portions may vary. Each couple comprises two opposing wall portions arranged to selectively engage with each other (e.g. abut each other) in response to movement of a threshold amount in a selected direction. In this sense, each couple is arranged to function in a similar manner to the couples of wall portions described above in relation to Figs. 2 and 3. Each individual couple extends in one direction across the substrate 110, and may thus act to inhibit movement above a threshold amount in a direction which causes the two opposing wall portions of that couple to abut. The support structure 100 may include a plurality of different couples which run parallel, or close to parallel, to each other. As such, in response to movement of a threshold amount in a first direction, a plurality of couples of opposing wall portions may engage (e.g. their constituent opposing wall portions may abut) to inhibit further movement in this first direction. The support structure 100 includes couples of opposing wall portions which extend across the substrate 110 in a plurality of different directions. The support structure 100 may be arranged to inhibit movement above a threshold amount in a number of different directions, and the threshold amount of movement may be different for each direction. For example, the support structure 100 may be provided in an item of clothing 10 to inhibit excessive bending backwards by the wearer, as well as to inhibit excessive twisting or rotation of the wearer’s spine. In which case, as the wearer bends backwards, the substrate 110 will also bend which will act to cause a first set of the couples of opposing wall portions to engage and inhibit any further bending in that direction. Similarly, as the wearer twists or leans too much one way, the substrate 110 will also bend. This time, the bending of the substrate 110 will be in a different direction to that from the wearer bending backwards. The bending of the substrate 110 in this direction will also act to engage a second set of the couples of opposing wall portions which will inhibit any further movement in that direction. As such, the support structure 100 may be operable to inhibit excessive movement in a plurality of different directions, e.g. to prevent against a number of different types of undesirable movements. The support structure 100 may be arranged to provide a varying support profile. This includes providing at least one of: an amount of support which varies spatially throughout the structure (e.g. with different amounts of support in different regions of the support structure 100), which varies in different directions (e.g. where different amounts of movement are permitted in different directions), and / or a combination of the two, where the amount of permitted movement varies in different regions of the structure (in both the same, and different, directions). The varying support profile may be selected to provide a desired level of protection to different regions of the wearer’s body 24. This functionality will now be described with reference also to the two cross-sectional profiles shown in Fig. 4. Along the A-A cross-section, there are two couples shown: the second couple 140b and the fourth couple 140d. It can be seen that each wall portion (and also the support ribs 151a, 151b) are of the same height along the A-A cross-section. That is, they extend the same distance away from the substrate 110. However, the second gap (between the opposing wall portions of the second couple 140b) is smaller than the fourth gap (between the opposing wall portions of the fourth couple 140d). In the region of the second couple 140b, it may take a relatively small amount of movement in a first direction for the wall portions of the second couple 140b to abut. In the region of the fourth couple 140d, it may take a relatively large amount of movement in the first direction for the wall portions of the fourth couple 140d to abut. For these two different couples, the movement may be in the same direction, but they may engage in response to different amounts of movement. By varying the gap size for different couples of the support structure 100, the threshold amount of movement may be varied in different regions of the support structure 100. For example, the wearer may be permitted to bend their back backwards by a greater amount towards the upper end of their back (e.g. by using larger gaps between couples in that region), than compared to the lower end of their back. Along the B-B cross-section, there are two couples shown: the first couple 140a and the third couple 140c. Along this cross-section, there are differences in wall portion height. The wall portions of the first wall structure 121 (and the supporting rib) are at the same height. However, the opposing wall portion 122a for the second wall structure 122 is at a lower height than the wall portion it opposes (the first wall portion 121a of the first wall structure 121). The opposing wall portion 124c for the fourth wall structure 124 is at a higher height than the wall portion it opposes (the third wall portion 121c of the first wall structure 121). As such, in response to the same movement in the region of the first couple 140a and the third couple 140c, the third couple 140c will engage before the first couple 140a. That is, it may take more movement in the region of the first couple 140a before the wall portions of the first couple 140a abut to inhibit further movement than for the third couple 140c. By varying the height for wall portions in different couples of the support structure 100, the threshold amount of movement may be varied in different regions of the support structure 100. For example, the wearer may be permitted to bend their back backwards by a greater amount towards the upper end of their back (e.g. by using smaller wall portions in couples in that region), than compared to the lower end of their back. Additionally, or alternatively, the differing heights for the wall portions in the couples may bring about an asymmetry to the amount of relative movement required in each direction before the wall portions abut. For example, it will take more rotation of the opposing wall portion 122a of the second wall structure 122 towards the first wall portion 121a of the first wall structure 121 before those two abut, than it will for rotation of the first wall portion 121a of the first wall structure 121 towards the opposing wall portion 122a of the second wall structure 122. By varying the height for wall portions within different individual couples of the support structure 100, the threshold amount of movement may be varied depending on the direction of movement (and this may be varied for different regions of the support structure 100). For example, an upper region of the wearer’s back may be permitted to bend backwards by a greater amount about a pivot point in a central region of their back than a lower region of their back may bend upwards about that same pivot point. In the examples described above, reference has been made to the support structure 100 being arranged to provide support for forces which act in several different directions. In particular, the support structure 100 may be arranged to inhibit movement above a respective threshold amount in each of at least a first and a second direction. These directions may be aligned with respective undesirable movements which are to be inhibited. For example, a first set of couples of opposing wall portions may be arranged to inhibit an undesirable movement which occurs in a first direction, and a second set of couples of opposing wall portions may be arranged to inhibit a different, undesirable movement which occurs in a second direction. As such, the support structure 100 may provide protection against multiple different undesirable forms of movement. However, the support structure 100 may be designed with one particular movement which is to be inhibited, but it may still utilise couples of opposing wall portions which extend in different directions. For example, the different directions in which the couples extend may not be perpendicular to the motion to be inhibited, but instead they may be at an angle to that direction (i.e. not 0° or 90°), such as at 45°. As such, the different sets of couples of opposing wall portions may be engaged at the same time for inhibit any further motion in the same direction (even though they run in different directions to each other). Such an arrangement may provide further force distribution throughout the entire support structure 100. That is, many or all of the different portions of the support structure 100 may be engaged together to inhibit one particular motion from occurring. The support structure 100 may still be arranged to provide spatial variations for the support provided (e.g. so that the amount of permitted movement may vary in different regions of the support structure 100). For example, the support structure 100 may be arranged to inhibit excessive bending backwards of a wearer when wearing an item of clothing 10 containing that support structure 100. The support structure 100 may be arranged with couples of opposing wall portions extending in different directions. The different couples may still act to inhibit excessive bending backwards even though they extend in different directions. The different couples may also be arranged so that the threshold amount of bending backwards which is permitted varies in different regions of the support structure 100. For example, the support structure 100 may be arranged so that the threshold amount of bending backwards is lower for the thoracic spine region bending backwards relative to the lumbar spine region (e.g. than it is for the cervical spine region bending backwards relative to the thoracic spine region). Another example of a support structure for an item of clothing 10 will now be described with reference to Fig. 5. The support structure is designed to provide protection to a wearer’s back. For example, the structure may provide protection against accidents or injuries associated with horse riding. The support structure shown may be inserted into an item of clothing, such as the item shown in Fig. 1. A person may wear that item of clothing 10, and the support structure (as inserted into the item of clothing 10) may provide protection to the wearer’s back (e.g. to prevent deflection of their back in a certain direction by more than a given value). Fig. 5 shows a support structure 100 formed of a flexible substrate 110 and a plurality of wall portions. The wall portions are arranged to provide a plurality of couples of associated opposing wall portions. For each couple, the opposing wall portions are separated by a gap and arranged to abut each other in response to movement of a threshold amount in a selected direction. That is, each couple of opposing wall portions may act in the same manner as described above. The wall portions may be arranged in a triangular lattice structure. In other words, the wall portions may form stiff triangular islands, with small gaps between these islands, where the substrate 110 forms flexible integrated hinge lines for bending of the wall portions relative to their opposing wall portions. These hinge lines may have a curved profile, and the thickness of the substrate 110 providing these hinge lines may be selected to determine the stiffness of the bending in that region. The support structure 100 of Fig. 5 is formed of wall portions of different lengths. The wall portions are connected to each other to provide a plurality of different wall structures. In Fig. 5, the wall structures are all triangular. That is, each wall structure is formed of three wall portions that are connected to each other. The three wall portions may be of the same length to provide equilateral triangle wall structures. The support structure 100 includes wall structures of different sizes. As shown, the support structure 100 includes a plurality of larger triangles 220 and smaller triangles 320. The triangles are arranged to tesselate with each other. In some regions of the support structure 100, the triangles are grouped together to provide a hexagonal structure (e.g. with six triangular structures provided about a central point). The smaller triangles 320 are provided in a lower portion of the support structure 100. The larger triangles 220 are provided in an upper portion of the support structure 100. The support structure 100 is arranged to be worn in an item of clothing 10 so that the upper portion (with the larger triangles 220) aligns with the upper portion of the wearer’s back, and the lower portion (with the smaller triangles 320) aligns with the lower portion of the wearer’s back. That is, once worn, the upper portion will be above the lower portion on the wearer’s back. Each of the triangles is formed of a first wall portion 120a, a second wall portion 120b, and a third wall portion 120c. For each of the triangles, one of the wall portions is aligned to be parallel with a longitudinal axis of a wearer’s spine. For instance, one of the wall portions will run approximately vertically when worn on a wearer’s back. As shown in Fig. 5, the second wall portion 120b runs parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support structure 100 (e.g. it runs approximately vertically when on a wearer’s back). For each triangle, the other wall portions will extend at an angle to the vertical (60° for the equilateral triangles). As shown in Fig. 5, each of the first and third wall portions extend at an angle of 60° to that of the second wall portions 120b. Apart from the wall portions which define the perimeter of the support structure 100, each other wall portion has one or more associated opposing wall portions. The first wall portion 120a of one triangle will have an opposing first wall portion 120a from another triangle. Those two first wall portions 120a will run parallel to each other (e.g. at 60° to the second wall portion direction). Those two first wall portions 120a will form a couple, with a gap defined therebetween. Similar comments apply to the second and third wall portions of the support structure 100. As such, the gaps between couples of associated opposing wall portions of the support structure 100 run in one of three directions: a first gap direction 130a (parallel to the first wall portions 120a), a second gap direction 130b (parallel to the second wall portions 120b), and a third gap direction 130c (parallel to the third wall portions 120c). The support structure 100 is arranged with one central second gap. The central second gap is arranged to overlie the wearer’s spine. The central second gap runs along the length of the support structure 100 in that region. The central second gap will overlie the majority, if not all, of the wearer’s spine. The support structure 100 also includes a first offset second gap 130b’ and a second offset second gap 130b”. The two offset second gaps run parallel to the central second gap, but they are located on either side of the central second gap. In particular, the two offset second gaps run along a lower portion of the support structure 100 (e.g. they do not extend all the way along the length of the support structure 100). Along the length of the support structure 100, there are a plurality of first and third gaps. Each of the first gaps run parallel to each other, and each of the third gaps run parallel two each other. There are lines of first and third gaps at different positions along the length of the support structure 100. Each of the triangles includes one or more support ribs. The support ribs couple different wall portions of the triangles to each other to provide reinforcement therebetween. As shown in Fig. 5, each of the smaller triangles 320 includes three sets of support ribs: a first support rib 321a, a second support rib 321b, and a third support rib 321c. For each of the smaller triangles 320, the first support rib 321a extends from a central region of the first wall portion 120a to a central region of the triangle, the second support rib 321b extends from a central region of the second wall portion 120b to the central region of the triangle, and the third support rib 321x extends from a central region of the third wall portion 120c to the central region of the triangle. The three support ribs are connected in the central region of the triangle. As such, each of the wall portions of the smaller triangles 320 is connected to the two other wall portions at its ends, and its central region is also coupled to the central regions of the two other wall portions through the supporting ribs. As shown in Fig. 5, each of the larger triangles 220 includes a plurality of sets of support ribs. This includes primary support ribs and secondary support ribs. The larger triangles 220 include: a first primary support rib 221a, a second primary support rib 221b, and a third primary support rib 221c (these form the primary support ribs for the larger triangles 220). For each of the larger triangles 220, the first primary support rib 221a extends from a central region of the first wall portion 120a to a central region of the triangle, the second primary support rib 221b extends from a central region of the second wall portion 120b to the central region of the triangle, and the third primary support rib 221c extends from a central region of the third wall portion 120c to the central region of the triangle. The three primary support ribs are connected in the central region of the triangle. The larger triangles 220 also include secondary support ribs. Each of the larger triangles 220 includes three groups of secondary support ribs: a first group 222a, a second group 222b, and a third group 222c. Each group of secondary support ribs couples together two wall portions. In particular, the secondary support ribs couple together two wall portions in a region of each wall portion which is between the central region and the end of that wall portion. Each group of secondary support ribs also couples those wall portions to the central region of the triangle (and thus to the primary support ribs). That is, each group of secondary support ribs is formed of three secondary support ribs. One extends away from a first region of one wall portion, another extends away from a first region of another wall portion, and the third extends away from the central region of the triangle. The three secondary support ribs are connected to each other. The first region for each wall portion is a region between the end of that wall portion and a central region of that wall portion. As such, each wall portion has two secondary support ribs extending away therefrom (e.g. perpendicularly), and also one primary support rib extending away therefrom (e.g. perpendicularly). In other words, each of the wall portions of the larger triangles 220 is connected to the two other wall portions at its ends, its central region is also coupled to the central regions of the two other wall portions through the primary support ribs, and the two regions between its two ends and the central region are also connected to a corresponding region of the other wall portions. For each triangle, there are a plurality of voids 152. The voids 152 are regions of the triangle shaped wall structures where there is no material present (i.e. where there are no wall portions or support ribs). The wall portions and / or support ribs may be of constant thickness along their length. The substrate 110 is shaped based on the shape of the wall portions of the support structure 100. As such, the substrate 110 is shaped to provide a tessellated array of triangles. The support structure 100 also includes holes in the regions where there are no wall portions above the substrate 110 (e.g. beneath the voids 152). The support structure 100 includes one or more open portions 112. The open portions 112 are located between the ends of adjacent wall portions (i.e. between parallel wall portions of different wall structures). The open portions 112 are areas where the substrate 110 is present, but there are no wall portions above the substrate 110. The open portions 112 provide a bigger gap between adjacent, parallel wall portions than the gap between those wall portions and their associated opposing wall portions. The support structure 100 is symmetrical about its longitudinal axis. For example, when worn by a wearer, the support structure 100 will be symmetrical about the length of their spine. In other words, the support structure 100 is symmetric about the central second gap. The arrangement of larger triangles 220 in the upper portion of the support structure 100 forms one larger hexagon (with six constituent large triangles forming the larger hexagon). The larger hexagon spans down from the top of the support structure 100. The larger hexagon extends across the entirety of the width of the support structure 100 in the upper portion of the support structure 100. The arrangement of smaller triangles 320 in the lower portion of the support structure 100 forms two smaller hexagons. Each of the smaller hexagons is offset from the central second gap. The two smaller hexagons are arranged symmetrically either side of the central second gap. There are more couples of associated, opposing wall portions in the lower region of the support structure 100 than in the upper region of the support structure 100. The wall portions of the larger triangles 220 are longer than those of the smaller triangles 320. As shown, the wall portions of the larger triangles 220 are twice or more the length of the wall portions of the smaller triangles 320. The bottom most wall portions of the larger triangles 220 in the larger hexagon form couples of associated opposing wall portions with wall portions from smaller triangles 320. In this region, each of the larger wall portions forms a couple with more than one of the smaller wall portions. As shown in Fig. 5, there are two larger wall portions which oppose smaller wall portions. Each such larger wall portion forms an opposing wall portion to two separate smaller wall portions. One of those smaller wall portions is part of the smaller hexagon, and the other is part of an additional smaller triangle. The additional smaller triangle 320 is included to fill the gap between the smaller and larger hexagons (e.g. so that the support structure 100 is of constant width in a central region). The upper edge of the support structure 100 is formed by two larger wall portions which are tapered towards an uppermost point of the support structure 100. The two side edges of the support structure 100 are straight. Each side edge of the support structure 100 includes wall portions from a plurality of triangles (both large and small). The bottom edge of the support structure 100 is formed from two sets of two smaller wall portions (e.g. in a zig-zag profile). The bottom edge of the support structure 100 follows the outline of the bottom of the two smaller hexagons. As shown in Fig. 5, each of the wall portions may extend to the same height above the substrate 110. The gaps between each couple of associated opposing wall portions may be of the same size. Instead, the length of the wall portions (e.g. the size of the triangles) may be used to select the threshold amount of movement before the wall portions abut to inhibit further movement in that direction. As will be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure, two opposing wall portions will abut once there has been rotation of one of these wall portions by a threshold angle relative to it opposing wall portion. A displacement at one vertex of a wall structure by a selected distance will cause a change in angle of rotation for the wall portion of that structure opposite to the vertex which increases in angle change as the distance between the vertex and the wall portion decreases. In other words, elevating one corner of a triangle by a selected distance will cause that triangle to pivot slightly about the wall portion opposing that vertex. The amount by which that triangle pivots will be based on the length separating the elevated region (the corner) and the pivot (the opposing wall). For the same elevation height, the shorter the distance separating the elevated region from the pivot, the greater the angle of pivoting, and thus the more which that wall portion will rotate relative to its associated opposing wall portion. In other words, the threshold amount of distance required to cause two associated, opposing wall portions to abut will be smaller where one or both of the wall portions involved are part of smaller wall structures. For example, for the larger triangles 220, more displacement of those triangles will be required before the wall portions abut. As with the other examples described above, the support structure 100 of Fig. 5 is arranged so that movement of a portion of the substrate 110 in a first direction by more than a threshold amount causes at least one wall portion to abut its associated opposing wall portion to inhibit further movement of said portion of the substrate 110 in the first direction for preventing excessive bending and / or torsion of the wearer’s torso. In other words, the support structure 100 is arranged to inhibit relative movement beyond a threshold amount. The support structure 100 is arranged to provide an asymmetric profile for bending and / or torsion of the item. In particular, the support structure 100 is arranged to inhibit relative movement beyond a threshold amount in each of a plurality of different directions. There are however a plurality of other directions where, movement of a portion of the support structure 100 in one of those other directions, will not be inhibited by the support structure 100, or at least will be inhibited less than movement in the inhibited directions. The support structure 100 of Fig. 5 is arranged to be worn in a top (i.e. it may be inserted into a top) with the larger triangles 220 closer to the wearer’s head than the smaller triangles 320. When worn in this way, the support structure 100 is arranged to inhibit certain excessive movements of the wearer’s spine. A first movement which the support structure 100 is arranged to inhibit is excessive bending backwards by the wearer. This includes bending where the top portion of the wearer’s spine moves backwards and / or downwards relative to the rest of their spine (e.g. backward movement of their head), and / or where the bottom portion of their spine moves backwards and / or upwards relative to the rest of their spine (e.g. backward movement of their buttocks). For either of these back bending motions, this would look approximately like a bending of a portion of the support structure 100 about an axis which runs approximately perpendicular to the direction of the second wall portions 120b of the support structure 100 (e.g. about an axis which runs approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wearer’s spine). As such, for this bending backwards, opposing second wall portions 120b are unlikely to engage each other, as they will be moving approximately in the same direction (and thus there will be no relative motion between them). The first and third wall portions however will engage with their associated opposing wall portions (in response to the threshold amount of bending backwards). The first and third wall portions each extend at approximately the same angle to such a bending axis running perpendicular to the second wall portions 120b (they just extend in different directions). As such, where the bend backwards is about such a ‘horizontal’ bending axis (i.e. perpendicular to the second wall portion 120b), couples of first wall portions 120a and couples of third wall portions 120c will engage to inhibit bending motion in this direction beyond a threshold direction. In other words, couples of wall portions which extend in two different directions will engage to inhibit excessive bending backwards of the wearer’s spine. This may improve distribution of forces throughout the entire support structure 100 and / or to increase the structural strength of the wall portions opposing the motion (as the number of engaged wall portions will be higher). As described above, the different couples of associated opposing wall portions may be arranged to engage each other in response to different amounts of relative movement therebetween. The support structure 100 may be arranged with differing amounts of permissible movement in different regions. In the structure shown in Fig. 5, the lower portion of the support structure 100 is arranged to permit less relative movement in an undesirable direction than the amount permitted in the upper portion of the support structure 100. As such, the support structure 100 is arranged to permit less back bending motion about a horizontal axis towards the lower portion of the support structure 100 compared to the amount of back bending motion permitted about a horizontal axis towards the upper portion of the support structure 100. In particular, the support structure 100 is arranged to permit less relative back bending between thoracic and lumbar regions of the spine (e.g. as compared to the amount of back bending permitted between the cervical and thoracic parts of the spine). For example, in Fig. 5, smaller triangles 320 are used in the lower portion so that the amount of permitted displacement perpendicular to the support structure 100 before the relevant wall portions abut is less in the than that permitted in the upper portion (where the triangles are larger). As such, the support structure 100 may be arranged to inhibit excessive bending backwards of the wearer’s spine, and the amount of bending backwards permitted may be different for different regions of their spine (e.g. with less permitted movement towards the lower parts of their spine, as compared to the upper parts). A second movement which the support structure 100 is arranged to inhibit is excessive twisting of the wearer’s upper body. This includes excessive rotation of one or more portions of the wearer’s upper body about their spine, and / or about any other axis approximately parallel to their spine. For instance, the support structure 100 may be arranged to inhibit a front surface of the wearer’s upper body from twisting too much relative to a front surface of their lower body. This type of twisting motion would look approximately like a bending of a portion of the support structure 100 about an axis which runs approximately parallel to the direction of the second wall portions 120b of the support structure 100 (e.g. about an axis which runs approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of the wearer’s spine). As such, for this twisting motion, opposing second wall portions 120b will engage each other, as at least some of these second wall portions 120b will be moving in a different direction, or by a differing amount, relative to their associated opposing wall portions. Additionally, some of the first and third wall portions may also engage with their respective associated opposing wall portions. The number of these first and third wall portions which engage may depend on the location about the relevant bending axis. In the support structure 100 of Fig. 5, there is a long central second gap extending along the majority of the length of the support structure 100, and there are two offset second gaps which are located either side of the long central second gap. Bending of one portion about an axis approximately parallel to those second gap axes will cause relative movement between the wall portions of second wall couple, which will cause those second wall portions 120b to abut. In the lower portion of the support structure 100 (towards the lower portion of the wearer’s spine), the amount of permitted twisting motion before the wall portions engage will be less than that in the upper portion (e.g. due to the triangles being smaller). As such, the upper portions of the wearer’s spine may be permitted to rotate further (e.g. about their spinal axis) before this motion is inhibited, as compared to the lower portions of the wearer’s spine. The first and third wall portions may also engage with their respective associated opposing wall portions in response to such twisting motion. As will be appreciated, where the twisting is about an axis approximately parallel to the second gaps, the amount of movement required before the first and third wall portions abut their associated opposing wall portions may be greater than that required for the second wall portions 120b (e.g. because the first and third wall portions would need to move along a hypotenuse length to abut their associated opposing wall portions - due to those wall portions not extending approximately perpendicular to the axis of bending). As will be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure, for two opposing wall portions to abut, there needs to be a threshold amount of relative movement between those wall portions (e.g. a threshold amount of movement of one wall portion relative to the other). This movement may occur in response to movement of one portion of the support structure 100 in a range of directions - the movement need not involve rotation about an axis which is exactly parallel to wall portions. Instead, any movement (e.g. rotation) which causes at least some relative motion in a direction perpendicular to wall portions may ultimately cause the wall portions to abut (but the amount of movement which is permitted before abutment may differ depending on the direction of movement). For example, the two types of rotation described above related to back bending (e.g. rotation about a horizontal axis) and twisting (e.g. rotation about a vertical axis). However, the relevant wall portions may still abut in response to rotation about an axis which is not horizontal or vertical. For example, the relevant movement may comprise a motion which involves both back bending and twisting, and the relevant wall portions may act to inhibit each of these motions, as described above. Figs. 6a and 6b show an item of clothing 200. The item 200 has a front side 212 and a back side 214. The item 200 also includes a support structure. The support structure is arranged to provide functionality disclosed herein. The support structure includes a front portion for providing support to the wearer’s front and a back portion for providing support to the wearer’s back. Each of the front and back portion of the support structure is formed of a plurality of polygon support elements, each having a plurality of wall portions (e.g. for abutting neighbouring wall portions as disclosed herein). Figs. 6a and 6b show an example arrangement for these polygon support elements of the support structure. As shown in Fig. 6a, the front side 212 of the item 200 has a plurality of polygon support elements to provide support thereto. The support structure includes polygon support elements in a front shoulder and collarbone region 2120 and a front rib region 2122. There are also regions of the support structure with fewer, or no, polygonal support elements. The front side 212 has a fastening region 2124, and front under arm pit region 2126, and a front side rib region 2128. As shown in Fig. 6b, the back side 214 of the item 200 has a plurality of polygon support elements to provide support thereto. The support structure includes polygon support elements in a central region 2141, an intermediate region 2142 and a side region 2143. The support structure also includes polygon support elements in a rear shoulder region 2144. There are also regions of the support structure with fewer, or no, polygonal support elements. The back side 214 has a rear under shoulder region 2146 and a rear side region 2148. Some of the polygon support elements may include one or more vent holes 216. As with the examples described herein, the support structure (for each of the front and back of the item 200) is formed of a plurality of wall portions carried on a substrate. Each wall portion is coupled to two or more other wall portions to form a polygon support element. In the example of Fig. 6a, these polygon support elements are triangular (e.g. each wall portion is coupled to two other wall portions to form a triangular support element). The triangular support elements are tessellated together across the front of the item 200 and across the back of the item 200. The support elements may cover a majority of the underlying substrate. Each triangular support element includes three wall portions, which are arranged for abutting neighbouring wall portions as disclosed herein. Each wall portion is connected at its two end points to the two other wall portions of the triangular support element. Each triangular support element may also include a roof portion which couples the topside (e.g. the side opposite to the substrate) of the wall portions to each along their length. Each triangular support element may be provided by a solid piece of material, or it may be hollow (e.g. with the wall portions, the roof and the substrate surrounding an open space). Each triangular support element may form a triangular island which extends from the substrate as is located next to one or more adjacent triangular islands with which it may interact to inhibit excessive movement as described herein. Some or all of the support elements may have a vent hole 216. The vent hole 216 may comprise a hole in the roof of the support element. The hole may extend the whole way through the support element. The vent hole 216 may help to increase ventilation (e.g. to increase breathability of the item 200), as well as to reduce weight of the item 200 and to make it more comfortable. For example, all of the triangular support elements on the back of the item 200 may have at least one vent hole 216. The support structure for the item 200 may be formed of three different sizes of triangle: a small, a medium and a large. The small triangles may be provided on the front. The medium and large triangles may be provided on the back. The vent holes 216 may only be provided in the medium and large triangles (e.g. on the back only). As will now be described in more detail below, for the front side 212 of the item 200, the support structure is arranged to provide increased protection to the collarbones, shoulders and ribs relative to the sides and arm pit (and under arm pit) regions. For the back side 214 of the item 200, the support structure is arranged to provide increased protection along the length of the spine, regions of the back closer to the spine (e.g. which are less laterally offset from the spine), as well as the back of the ribs and the shoulder relative to the sides and the back of the arm pit (and under arm pit) regions. For the front side 212, there are a plurality of triangular support elements provided in the front shoulder and collarbone region 2120. The triangular support elements may be arranged to provide a straight line of triangular elements which extend across the region of the wearer’s torso (when the item 200 is worn) in a direction substantially similar to that which the collar bones extend across the wearer’s torso. For example, when worn, the straight line(s) of triangular elements may overlie the wearer’s collar bones (and extend in a roughly parallel direction to the collar bones along their length). Similarly, in the front rib region 2122, the triangular support elements may be arranged to provide a straight line of triangular elements which will overlie the wearer’s ribs when the item 200 is worn. This arrangement may provide increased support to the collar bones and ribs (which could be more susceptible to damage during an accident). For the front side 212, there are also some regions with a lower spatial density of triangular support elements. In particular in the front side rib region 2128 and the under arm pit region 2126, there are portions of the item 200 with no support elements. This arrangement may provide greater flexibility in these regions (e.g. easier movement of the wearer’s arms). These regions are also likely to be less susceptible to serious injury, and so the lack of support elements in these regions may render the item 200 more comfortable (less heavy and more mobile) without providing any substantial compromise on the support offered by the item 200 to prevent serious injury. The support elements in the front side 212 may be formed of smaller triangular shapes as compared to the support elements in the back side 214. The wall portions of these support elements may therefore withstand increased relative movement (e.g. bending) before adjacent wall portions abut to inhibit further movement. This is because the wearer may be configured to withstand more relative movement (e.g. bending) without serious injury for regions of their front as compared to their back (e.g. for their spine). The front side 212 may therefore be more comfortable relative to the back side 214 while still providing sufficient protection. Additionally, as the pattern of support elements on the front side 212 may be more complex, the provision of smaller triangles may facilitate an easier alignment for the different support elements of the front side 212. The front side 212 may also include fastening means. The front and back side may be connected to each other along the length of the sides thereof (e.g. instead of using attachment means such as straps to connect the front side to the back side 214). The front side 212 may be unfastened and fastened to enable the wearer to put the item 200 on. For example, the fastening means may comprise a zip, and the zip may extend along the length of the fastening region 2124. For example, the zip may extend from a region proximal to the bottom of the V to the bottom of the front side 212 of the item 200 (e.g. the zip may extend diagonally across and then diagonally down to reach the bottom of the front side 212). The zip may be undone to open the item 200 for the wearer to put it on / take it off, and then done up to secure the item 200 onto the wearer. There may be a reduced spatial density of support elements in the fastening region 2124 (as compared to the regions proximal to the fastening region 2124). For example, the support elements may be arranged around the zip, along the length of the zip. This may provide increased flexibility in the region of the zip (e.g. to facilitate use of the zip). For the back side 214 of the item 200, the support elements are arranged in a longitudinal fashion. The elements are arranged in lines extend along the length of the item 200 (e.g. in a direction substantially parallel to the wearer’s spine when wearing the item 200). The support structure includes a central region 2141 of large triangle support elements. The central region 2141 has two columns of large triangles which extend along the majority of the length of the item 200. The large triangles may be arranged so that their wall portions abut their neighbouring wall portions in response to smaller amounts of relative movement (as compared to the small or medium triangles). As such, along the length of the wearer’s spine, the support elements may interact to inhibit further movement after a relatively small amount of relative movement of one portion of the wearer’s spine relative to another (e.g. bending or twisting of the spine may be very quickly inhibited). The support structure then includes a column of support elements in the intermediate region 2142 either side of the central region 2141. The support structure has a second column of support elements in the side region 2143 (further out from the central region 2141 on the other side of the intermediate region 2142). In the intermediate and side regions, smaller support elements are used (e.g. which permit more relative movement as compared to the large support elements in the central region 2141, and e.g. less relative movement as compared to the small support elements on the front 212). In the intermediate region 2142, the support elements extend in a continuous line (column) along a majority of the length of the item 200. In the side region 2143, there are some portions of the column with support elements missing (such as behind the wearer’s shoulder blade in the rear under shoulder region 2146). This may permit more movement of the wearer’s shoulders / arms. There are support elements arranged in the region behind the wearer’s shoulder joint itself - the rear shoulder region 2144 (e.g. to inhibit excess movement and damage to the joint). As with the front side 212, the back side 214 may have a rear side region 2148 with fewer / no support elements present, such as to provide increased flexibility of movement for the wearer in a region where they are less likely to withstand a serious injury. In the example of Fig. 6a and 6b, the support structure may be formed from modular shapes for combined support elements. For example, the support structure may be a combination of a plurality of single lines of tessellated triangles and hexagons (of six triangles). Additionally, or alternatively, one of the modular shapes could be an irregular pentagon formed of seven triangles, with six arranged to provide a hexagon, and the seventh triangle extending out from one of the six outside edges of the hexagon. This may facilitate easier manufacturing and / or assembly for the support structure of the item 200. Examples described herein relate to support structures 100 for an item of clothing 10. The present disclosure may include an item of clothing 10 which includes the support structure 100, and / or it may include an insert comprising the support structure 100, where that insert may be inserted into an item of clothing 10. For example, the support structure 100 may be integrated into a portion of an item of clothing 10, such as into a back panel of a top. However, it is to be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure, it will be appreciated that the support structures may be used in alternative items of clothing, and so items of clothing disclosed herein need not be considered limiting. For example, the support structure 100 may be used in clothing for protecting a wearer’s lower body, head and / or limbs. An insert for an item of clothing 10 may comprise an element which is suitably sized and shaped so that it could be included into such an item of clothing 10 - e.g. an item of clothing 10 could be built around it, with fabric layers encompassing it, and / or it could be slidably inserted into an existing item of clothing 10 which defines a recess for receiving that support structure 100. Similarly, in examples described herein, the support structure 100 has been designed to be inserted into a back side 14 of a top (e.g. to protect the wearer’s spine), but this need not be considered limiting. The support structure 100 could be provided in a front side 12 of the item of clothing 10 (e.g. in a front panel of a top). When inserted in a front side 12, the support structure 100 may be arranged to inhibit certain movements from occurring in excess (e.g. by more than a threshold amount). This includes movements which may affect potentially vulnerable parts of the wearer’s front, such as their shoulders, ribs, collarbones etc. Additionally or alternatively, the support structure 100 may overlie a wearer’s front, but it may still protect their spine. For example, by orienting the wall portions accordingly, they may inhibit excessive bending and / or torsion of their spine from a location which is not necessarily on their back, such as in a side or front region of their torso. The item of clothing 10 may be for protecting a wearer’s upper body. For example, it may be a top (e.g. a vest, jacket etc.). The top may be a protective item of clothing 10 for horse riding, such as a protective vest, e.g. which may be worn under a rider’s jacket. However, it will be appreciated that the item of clothing may be for other purposes. In particular, the item may include a support structure for inhibiting movement above a threshold amount in one or more selected directions. This functionality may find utility for a number of alternative purposes to horse riding. For example, the item of clothing may be a protective garment to be worn for contact sports, such as rugby, American football, ice hockey etc. Similarly, the item may be designed for other sports where there is a risk of crashing which could cause injury. For example, the item could be a protective garment for skiing, snowboarding, cycling etc. It will be appreciated that horse riding is just one example which has been described herein. However, the item may provide protection to a wearer for any number of activities where there may be at least one movement of their body (e.g. bending of their back) which is to be inhibited beyond a certain amount (e.g. excessive bending or twisting in an undesirable direction). In examples described herein, the support structure 100 provides an asymmetric profile to inhibiting relative motion of the support structure 100. However, this need not be the case. The support structure 100 could include wall portions which extend away from the substrate 110 in two separate directions. For example, this arrangement may then inhibit bending in each direction (e.g. forwards or backwards) by the same amount. Similarly, in examples described herein, multiple couples of wall portions may be provided and / or couples of wall portions may be arranged to inhibit movement in different directions (e.g. the wall portions may extend in different directions). However, this need not be the case. The support structure 100 may only include one couple of opposing wall portions, and this couple may act to inhibit movement above a threshold amount in one selected direction. Movement in other directions may then not be inhibited. Similarly, all opposing wall portions may be parallel so that they each inhibit movement in the same selected direction. The directions in which movement is inhibited may be to prevent excessive back bending or twisting, as described above, but alternative movements may also be inhibited, such as forward bending, compression or expansion movements etc. which could also act to bring two opposing wall portions to abut each other. It will also be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure that wall portions may form a couple with multiple different other wall portions. Similarly, associated opposing wall portions in one couple need not run parallel to each other. Instead, the opposing wall portions should be arranged so that, in response to relative movement in the relevant direction, the wall portions will abut, thereby inhibiting further relative movement. They may not be provided on a flat substrate 110 (e.g. they may extend away from the substrate 110 at different angles so that bending of the substrate 110 may bring the distal ends of the wall portions into contact with each other, thereby inhibiting further such movement). The material of the substrate 110 may be chosen to provide a desired resistance to bending. For example, the shape and / or thickness of a hinge portion of substrate 110 which connects two associated opposing wall portions (e.g. the portion of substrate 110 separating those wall portions) may be selected to provide a selected resistance to relative movement (e.g. bending of the substrate 110 and the two wall portions). In particular, the substrate 110 may be arranged so that the resistance to bending increases with increased bending, up to the amount of bending at which the two wall portions abut. The substrate 110 may also not need to cover all space between wall portions. Instead, the substrate 110 may be arranged with some gaps there, but where the substrate 110 is still arranged so that bending of the wearer’s body (e.g. their back) causes a corresponding bending of the substrate 110, and thus a movement of one or more wall portions relative to other wall portions of the support structure 100. As will be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure, polygons of wall portions could be any suitable shape. For example, while triangles have been described, other shapes could also be used, such as hexagons or other shapes. In particular, the wall portions do not have to be arranged into shapes which tesselate and so any suitable polygons could be used. The polygons of wall portions may provide support elements. These support elements could be open (e.g. with open space between the constituent walls of the elements) or closed (e.g. with material extending between the constituent walls). The wall portions may be coupled to the substrate from which they extend. For example, the wall portions may be attached to the substrate (e.g. they may be two separate components which have been attached to each other), or they may be formed of a single component. The support structure may be coupled to the fabric layers on either or both sides of the structure, e.g. one or both sides of the support structure may be attached (e.g. stitched) to the fabric layer on that side of the support structure. It will be appreciated from the discussion above that the examples shown in the figures are merely exemplary, and include features which may be generalised, removed or replaced as described herein and as set out in the claims. The function of one or more of the elements shown in the drawings may be further subdivided, and / or distributed throughout apparatus of the disclosure. In some examples the function of one or more elements shown in the drawings may be integrated into a single functional unit. As will be appreciated by the skilled reader in the context of the present disclosure, each of the examples described herein may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Any feature of any aspects of the disclosure may be combined with any of the other aspects of the disclosure. In addition, each of the features of each of the examples is intended to be separable from the features which it is described in combination with, unless it is expressly stated that some other feature is essential to its operation. Each of these separable features may of course be combined with any of the other features of the examples in which it is described, or with any of the other features or combination of features of any of the other examples described herein. Furthermore, equivalents and modifications not described above may also be employed without 5 departing from the invention. Other examples and variations of the disclosure will be apparent to the skilled addressee in the context of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An item of clothing arranged to protect a wearer’s torso from excessive bending and / or torsion, the item comprising a flexible substrate and a plurality of rigid wall portions;wherein each wall portion is coupled to, and extends away from, one side of the substrate, and at least one of the wall portions has an associated opposing wall portion; andwherein the item is arranged so that movement of a portion of the substrate in a first direction by more than a threshold amount causes at least one wall portion to abut its associated opposing wall portion to inhibit further movement of said portion of the substrate in the first direction for preventing excessive bending and / or torsion of the wearer’s torso.

2. The item of claim 1, wherein the wall portions are arranged to provide an asymmetric profile for bending and / or torsion of the item.

3. The item of claim 2, wherein the wall portions are arranged to enable more movement of said portion of the substrate in a second direction than in the first direction.

4. The item of any preceding claim, wherein the movement of said portion of the substrate comprises movement of a first portion of the substrate relative to a second portion of the substrate in response to bending and / or torsion applied to the item, optionally wherein the movement comprises bending of the first portion relative to the second portion.

5. The item of any preceding claim, wherein a plurality of the wall portions have associated opposing wall portions.

6. The item of claim 5, wherein each of said wall portions is located proximal to its associated opposing wall portion with at least a portion of its wall portion spaced apart from a portion of its associated opposing wall portion.

7. The item of claim 6, wherein each of said wall portions is spaced apart from, and runs parallel to, its associated opposing wall portion.

8. The item of any of claims 5 to 7, wherein movement of said portion of the substrate in the first direction causes a plurality of said wall portions to abut their associated opposing wall portions.

9. The item of any of claims 5 to 8, wherein some of the wall portions having associated opposing wall portions extend in a different direction to others.

10. The item of claim 9, wherein the different directions of the wall portions are selected to inhibit movement of portions of the substrate beyond a threshold amount in each of a plurality of different directions, optionally wherein the different wall portions are arranged to provide a different threshold amount of movement for movement in the different directions.

11. The item of any of claims 9 or 10, wherein the wall portions are connected to each other to form a plurality of polygons, wherein at least one of the wall portions of each polygon has an associated opposing wall portion.

12. The item of claim 11, wherein each wall portion of each polygon is connected to another wall portion of that polygon at each of its ends to form the vertices of the polygon; andwherein each polygon includes a plurality of support ribs arranged to couple together a central region of each of the wall portions of that polygon.

13. The item of claim 11, wherein each polygon is formed of a block of material, wherein the material extends between the wall portions of said polygon, optionally wherein each polygon and its wall portions are formed of a single piece of material.

14. The item of claim 13, wherein at least one of the polygons has one or more vent holes provided in the material of said polygon.

15. The item of any of claims 11 to 14, wherein the polygons are tessellated together, optionally wherein each polygon is triangular or hexagonal.

16. The item of any preceding claim, wherein the substrate is arranged to provide a resistance to bending of the substrate in the first direction which increases in magnitude with an increased amount of bending in the first direction, optionally wherein the substrate is arranged to so that resistance to bending of the substrate in the first direction increases in magnitude with increased bending up to the point at which one or more wall portions abut their associated opposing wall portions to impede further bending of the substrate in the first direction.

17. The item of any preceding claim, wherein a shape of the substrate corresponds to the arrangement of the wall portions such that a material of the substrate extends between each of the wall portions and its associated opposing wall portion.

18. The item of claim 17, wherein adjacent, non-opposing wall portions are separated from each other by one or more regions with no wall material, and optionally wherein the substratehas holes in those regions.

19. The item of any preceding claim, wherein at least some of the plurality of wall portions are arranged to overlie the wearer’s back, optionally wherein the wall portions are arranged with larger polygons of wall portions overlying an upper portion of the wearer’s spine and smaller polygons for overlying a lower portion of the wearer’s spine.

20. The item of any preceding claim, wherein at least some of the plurality of wall portions are arranged to overlie the wearer’s front, optionally wherein the wall portions are arranged to overlie the ribs and / or collarbones.

21. The item of any preceding claim, wherein at least one of: (i) a height to which the wall portions extend away from the substrate, (ii) a spacing between the wall portions and their associated opposing wall portions, (iii) a length which the wall portions or a wall structure of which the wall portions are part extends away from the opposing wall portion, is selected to provide a chosen value for the threshold amount of movement in the first direction.

22. The item of any preceding claim, wherein the item is arranged to inhibit a wearer from bending backwards beyond a threshold amount, optionally wherein the item is arranged to enable the wearer to bend forwards beyond more than a corresponding threshold amount.

23. The item of any preceding claim, wherein at least one of: (i) a front side of the item is shorter than a back side of the item, and (ii) the backside of the item tapers down to a thinner width towards its bottom end.

24. The item of any preceding claim, wherein the item of clothing is a protection garment for horse riding, and wherein the substrate and wall portions are arranged to inhibit rotation of the thoracic spine relative to the lumbar spine.

25. An insert for an item of clothing for protecting a wearer’s torso from excessive bending and / or torsion, the insert comprising a flexible substrate and a plurality of rigid wall portions;wherein each wall portion is coupled to, and extends away from, one side of the substrate, and at least one of the wall portions has an associated opposing wall portion; andwherein the insert is arranged so that movement of a portion of the substrate in a first direction by more than a threshold amount causes at least one wall portion to abut its associated opposing wall portion to inhibit further movement of said portion of the substrate in the first direction.

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