Figure-enhancing bras might look sensational - but they could damage your health.

Osteopaths are seeing more and more women who squeeze themselves into the wrong size or style of bra, putting stress on bones and muscles and even causing breathing problems.

The return to the health problems last seen in the days of the bone corsets is reported by the British School of Osteopathy.

Charlotte Wightman, an osteopath there, says: "I have met women who put themselves into bras which exert enormous forces on the body. The pressure of fashion bras is so great that it can affect digestion. We have diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome and constipation, which we believe is caused by the diaphragm being prevented from moving, and acting on the bowel."

And Jill Palmer, ladieswear supervisor at Marks and Spencer in Bradford, says well-fitting bras are not only important for women's health - they also make their clothes look great and enhance their figures.

"Women who come here get a one-to-one service in the fitting room. Years ago it was very much older women coming for fitting but now it's all ages," she says.

The sheer variety of modern bras is huge, with everything from sports bras to ones which will give a cleavage where women thought there would never be one!

Bra fitters at M&S are trained to fit the correct sizes as well as to advise on the right sort of bra for different occasions or outfits, says Jill.

The store is now specialising in a lingerie service for ethnic minority customers, with a discreet service and bilingual staff who will wear special badges to advise women they are available to translate.

Research by the British School of Osteopathy found that women were habitually forcing themselves into bras which are the wrong size. And too many were wearing "push up and plunge" bras, such as the Wonderbra, day in and day out.

Says Charlotte Wightman: "There is a place for a fashion bra. It should be for occasional use but too many women see it as part of their essential everyday kit."

The School's clinic manager, Charles Hunt, says badly-fitting bras cause muscle and skeletal problems. "From a medical point of view, the perfect style would have good cup support, with underwiring and supportive sides, so that pressure is not put on the spine." He advocates strong, adjustable straps and two or three hooks.

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