Back Pain: Women Often Blame Their Bra

Oct. 4, 2006 -- A new poll shows that for many women, bras are a pain in the neck, back, and shoulders.

The online poll was conducted in August by Harris Interactive for the nonprofit North American Spine Society and the bra company Maidenform.

More than 1,300 women participated in the poll.

Fifty-nine percent of the women said their bra causes them to have back, shoulder, or neck pain.

Most of those women said their bra "sometimes" or "rarely" made their back, shoulders, or neck hurt.

Women reporting back, shoulder, or neck pain due to their bras cited bra straps as the biggest problem, followed by the bra's band around the rib cage, the supportive underwire built into many bras, and the bra's cup size or cup fit.

Not all of the women bashed their bras.

Thirty-nine percent of the entire group said their bras never hurt their back, shoulders, or neck. The remaining 2% said they don't wear bras.

The poll's results don't cover other possible sources of back, shoulder, or neck pain.

The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus 4%.

SOURCES: Harris Interactive for North American Spine Society and Maidenform: "A Study About Bras and Back Pain."