I also have a few thoughts in this area...First, I wear a 44I !!! I, too, broke my collar bone, which healed "crooked," then, (stupidly)went rollerskating a few years back, fell and permanantly dislocated a rib...right at the same spot that an underwire sits. No pain in the world compares to having a stress blister under your heavy busom. So, no underwires, but lots of falling straps...and lots of frustration.
A few years back, I read that Jane Russell also had this problem, and that her love interest, at that time, was Howard Hughes, the famous engineer. He actually Engineered her a bra!!! She said that from then on, it was the only bra she would wear, and commissioned to have them made from his patterns.
What I want to know is this---Women need bras that fit. Rarely are we happy with the offerings that exist. WHY doesn't someone ENGINEER a bra that works, lifts, is comfortable, doesn't inflict pain (either physically or in the pocketbook), and doesn't look like and armored TANK?
Oh, and where are Howard Hughes' patterns?
Maybe we should propound our thoughts to the great brains at MIT, etc., and see what they come up with!
Okay, I'll stop now!