# Do large breasts always hurt, or can some women carry them without problems?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 22, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131 "2009-09-22T20:08:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/1 "2009-09-22T20:08:12Z")
Just curious. Are large breasts always a ticket to back problems for most women, or do some women have enough muscle and strong enough bodies to carry them without problems?
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### Author:  [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/2 "2009-09-22T20:21:44Z")
Hurt? Why do you think they hurt? š
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/3 "2009-09-22T20:26:49Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#):
>
> Hurt? Why do you think they hurt? š
Ummā¦ because lots of women with large breasts claim they are painful and cumbersome, and would much prefer to have considerably smaller breasts.
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### Author:  [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/4 "2009-09-22T20:37:06Z")
Cumbersome, maybe, but painful?
Maybe you could define what you consider ālarge.ā The women Iāve heard complain about this are way bigger than DD cups.
Iām a DD, and theyāre only painful on the rare occasions when they get whacked or injured in some way. (p.s. Hereās some advice for well-endowed ladies: Do NOT take a baking sheet out of a hot oven when youāre not wearing any clothes! Very minor burn, but kind of embarrassing to explain.)
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/5 "2009-09-22T20:41:50Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#):
>
> Cumbersome, maybe, but painful?
>
> Maybe you could define what you consider ālarge.ā The women Iāve heard complain about this are way bigger than DD cups.
>
> Iām a DD, and theyāre only painful on the rare occasions when they get whacked or injured in some way. (p.s. Hereās some advice for well-endowed ladies: Do NOT take a baking sheet out of a hot oven when youāre not wearing any clothes! Very minor burn, but kind of embarrassing to explain.)
Interesting , maybe Iāve put too much stock in the complaints Iāve heard.
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### Author:  [@Polly\_Glot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polly_Glot)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/6 "2009-09-22T20:46:11Z")
Green Bean - _ouch_.
I think that, before women splurge for elective breast augmentation, they should first be required to wear a bra all day long in the cup size that they are aiming for. If itās my size theyāre after (DDD)ā¦ good luck finding support that also manages to be comfortable and affordable. Not happening!
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### Author:  [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/7 "2009-09-22T20:48:42Z")
I donāt know about other women, but mine are partly responsible for back pain. I also have reoccurring stabbing pain in my breasts.
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### Author:  [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/8 "2009-09-22T20:48:49Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#):
>
> Cumbersome, maybe, but painful?
>
> Maybe you could define what you consider ālarge.ā The women Iāve heard complain about this are way bigger than DD cups.
>
> Iām a DD, and theyāre only painful on the rare occasions when they get whacked or injured in some way. (p.s. Hereās some advice for well-endowed ladies: Do NOT take a baking sheet out of a hot oven when youāre not wearing any clothes! Very minor burn, but kind of embarrassing to explain.)
Big boobs, in the kitchen, no clothes.
I think youāre doing this on purpose. Iāll be back in ten minutes.
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### Author:  [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/9 "2009-09-22T20:54:46Z")
Maybe frame has something to do with it? I have heard lots of big breasted women complain of back pain, but I never had any. I am a large women overall, though. Maybe a slim woman with large breasts experiences more pain.
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/10 "2009-09-22T21:27:31Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#):
>
> Maybe frame has something to do with it? I have heard lots of big breasted women complain of back pain, but I never had any. I am a large women overall, though. Maybe a slim woman with large breasts experiences more pain.
That was kind of my question. If a woman has a reasonably robust skeletal frame and musculature is being busty normally going to be that much of a problem? At least for you and Green Bean the answer is ānoā.
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### Author:  [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/11 "2009-09-22T21:31:31Z")
The BOOBS donāt hurt. They can, however, cause back pain, and also shoulder pain from the strain on the bra straps. And yes, frame has something to do with it.
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### Author:  [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/12 "2009-09-22T22:31:25Z")
The bigger the boobs, the smaller the frame, the more aches and pains.
I have DDs, but Iāve got the frame of a German peasant. Occasionally, my back hurts, but itās almost always about my posture and whether Iāve been working out or not.
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### Author:  [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/13 "2009-09-22T22:39:37Z")
I can only go by what my first wife stated. She was 5ā0" tall and a petite woman with very VERY large breasts. She finally had a breast reduction and is much happier. She complained about her back all the time. As I recall she was either DD or DDD but it has been several years since we have been divorced and even though we are on good terms, I donāt believe my current wife would appreciate me calling my ex up and asking her about her boobs though š
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### Author:  [@Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rascal_s_Mom)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/14 "2009-09-22T22:42:09Z")
I donāt suffer any pain in any form because of them (Iām a DD too), but trying to find a comfortable bra is, well, a pain, and expensive, but that was covered in a thread a few months ago.
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### Author:  [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/15 "2009-09-22T23:09:47Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#):
>
> Cumbersome, maybe, but painful?
>
> Maybe you could define what you consider ālarge.ā The women Iāve heard complain about this are way bigger than DD cups.
Cup size is not an objective measure of volume; they are a measure of the proportion between the widest part of the chest and the widest part of the breast. So, a 32DD is much smaller volumetrically (and, obviously, weighs less) than a 40DD.
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### Author:  [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/16 "2009-09-23T00:38:37Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#):
>
> I donāt know about other women, but mine are partly responsible for back pain. I also have reoccurring stabbing pain in my breasts.
This. Thereās also the pain of the straps on the shoulders.
In my case thereās also the fact that I am short (5ā2"), so my breasts are not in proportion with my frame. And yes, I hate them and Iāll get a reduction sooner than later.
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### Author:  [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/17 "2009-09-23T01:35:38Z")
Not hurt, but my eyes do tend to wear out after a whole day of ogling.
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### Author:  [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/18 "2009-09-23T02:04:24Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#):
>
> Not hurt, but my eyes do tend to wear out after a whole day of ogling.
Large breast can certainly be painful, and I donāt in any way mean to downplay that pain. However, I think there are some psychological reasons why that pain is sometimes not exaggerated but over-emphasized and why the OP could have gotten the impression that large breasts always result in excruciating pain.
When one has the largest breasts in oneās peer group, one gets comments. This starts in middle school: other girls say āI wish I had your figureā. Adolecent girls are often programed to deflect compliments like thatāself-deprecation is built in almost from birth. So girls respond with āyeah, but they kill my backāāand they really can lead to back pain, but the talking about it is linked to that need to undermine compliments (Try this. Compliment a teenage girl on ANYTHING and she will tell you why it sucks). Itās even worse when boys say something in those years because the compliment is always poorly handled at bestāthe big-breasted girl finds the whole topic awkward _anyway_, so when boys make some comment about her breastsāoften an oblique referenceāthe girl is quick to say āyou have no idea how painful these are. Itās not awesomeā. This is likely true, but the reason she makes a point to say it to the boys is to say, basically āquit being facinated by these. They arenāt magic, they arenāt special, and I donāt like itā.
There also exists a type of girl who seems to complain about her big-breast-linked back pain all the time as a pretext to talk about her big breasts all the time. I think this occurs but is far less common.
Anyway, in no way am I saying that breasts canāt contribute to back paināof course they canāI am just suggesting a reason why it might seem like big-breasted girls talk about it a lot.
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### Author:  [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/19 "2009-09-23T02:27:17Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#):
>
> Cup size is not an objective measure of volume; they are a measure of the proportion between the widest part of the chest and the widest part of the breast. So, a 32DD is much smaller volumetrically (and, obviously, weighs less) than a 40DD.
This is what I was going to say. I wear a 34DD and my actual boob volume is much less than one of my girl friends whoās a 42C.
As to getting fake boobs and supportive bras - umm, women with implants donāt need to wear a bra - their boobs just stay in the same place, generally. (At least thatās how it is with my friends who have implants - YMMV.)
Anyhow - 34DD - no back pain. Although I suppose if suddenly they were gone maybe Iād notice a difference. Dunno.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-large-breasts-always-hurt-or-can-some-women-carry-them-without-problems/511131/20 "2009-09-23T03:52:48Z")
Even medium sized breasts can be a pain in the ass - the boyfriend is trying to teach me to box, and this would have been a LOT easier in college when I had to hunt for a specific model of Playtex that came in size ānearly Aā. They were called, and I am not kidding, āThank Goodness It Fitsā. Oh, the irony, it burns.
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