21 is provided between adjacent bodies 20 the number of bodies 20 may vary with the length of the reinforcing element 10 each body 20 is connected via a projection or ridge 22 to the elements 11 12 in one embodiment the ridge 22 connects the medial side 13 of a body 20 to an upper side 15 of the first element 11 similarly another ridge 22 connects the lateral side 14 of the body 20 to an upper side 16 of the second element 12 gaps or cut outs 23 between the bodies 20 and the elongate elements 11 12 are arranged on the two sides of the ridge 22 substantially parallel with respect to the elongate elements 11 12 the cut outs 23 effectively decouple the bodies 20 from the bending of the elongate elements 11 12 this decoupling action allows the elongate elements 11 12 to bend nearly uniformly along their entire lengths thus distributing the associated forces evenly without concentrating them at discrete points along the elements 11 12 which leads to premature element weakening moreover this uniform bending may be more comfortable for the wearer than prior art reinforcing elements that bend at discrete points the size and shape of the cut out 23 influences the bending properties of the reinforcing element 10 for example larger cut outs 23 may increase the flexibility of the elongate elements 11 12.