Thin Is In, But Not Necessarily For Bra Straps

Summer fashion trends and bra straps

Women should take care with underwear support as summer fashion trends minimize. Wearing a thin bra strap too tightly can lead to a nagging headache, say doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

"The binding from the strap puts pressure on the trapezius muscle, which causes strain and knotting of the muscle and may cause headaches or pain that radiates down the arm," says Dr. Karen Kowalske, UT Southwestern's chairwoman of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

The pain may take days or weeks to resolve, but there is virtually no permanent damage.

Full-busted women should wear bras with straps that are significantly wider than a standard strap with some padding if possible. Regular straps are too narrow and spaghetti straps are worse.