Breast Pain

What is Breast Pain?

Breast pain is scientifically also known as mastalgia, mammalgia, or mastodynia. Any pain or tenderness in the breast area which causes discomfort in the breast is known as breast pain according to Breast Cancer Foundation. Usually, the upper, outer, or both areas of breasts is affected by breast pain. Additionally, breast pain can spread to the arms as well. According to the level of severity and causes of breast pain, your doctor might suggest different types of treatment methods to treat breast pain.

Breast pain can be cyclic and non-cyclic forms. A cyclic form of breast pain is breast pain which comes frequently in form of patterns whereas, non-cyclic doesn’t. Breast pain can be difficult to cope with and can occur constantly. Breast pain can affect males, females, and transgenders. The pain ranges from severe to mild breast pain. 

What are the Signs of Breast Pain?

Detecting breast pain is quite easy and pretty clear most of the time. Signs that you are going through breast pain are as follows.

• Tender breast
• Throbbing pain in the breast
• Sharp and stabbing pain in breasts
• Breasts feel extremely tight
• Burning in breast tissue
• Breast looks dull
• Your breasts feel heavy than usual
• Swollen breasts
• Hypersensitivity in breast regions
• Physical or sexual activity becomes difficult
• Your breasts become painful in certain periods like patterns
• Lumps on breast
• Pain starts to spread to the underarm
• Breast pain usually affects younger women
• You are in the postmenopausal phase 
• The breast pain becomes more painful gradually
• Are you going through the menstruation phase or you will go through periods?

How Common is Breast Pain Among Women?

It is said that around two-thirds of women experience breast pain in their lifetime. Additionally, 50 to 70% of American women go through breast pain. In conclusion, breast pain is quite common among females.

What are the Causes of Breast Pain?

Finding our one source of breast pain is quite hard. Breast pain occurs due to various reasons and several underlying issues or disorders. The causes or reasons for developing or experiencing breast pain are as follows:

• Angina
• Hormonal changes
• Unfit bra
• Scar tissue
• Inflammation of the costal cartilage
• Breast Cancer
• Liver damage
• Alcoholism
• Acid refluxes
• Stress
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Breast tumor
• Cysts in breast
• Breast post-surgical trauma
• Infection at the breastfeeding stage
• Coronary artery disease
• Too much caffeine intake
• Costochondritis
• Fibromyalgia
• Mastitis
• Medication side effects
• Herpes zoster
• Peptic ulcers
• Pericarditis
• Pregnancy
• Menturaltion
• Menopause
• Pleurisy
• Puberty

What are Health Conditions Related to Breast Pain?

Breast pain can be a serious sign of various underlying medical conditions which may or may not be fatal to your health. Common health conditions related to breast pain are:

• Breast disease- is an umbrella term for various conditions like breast mass, nipple discharge, and breast pain.
• Fibrocystic breast disease- These conditions make women’s breasts become lumpy and get a rope-like texture
• Breast cancer- A type of cancer that forms in breast cells and tissues
• Mastitis- Breast tissue infection causing severe pain
• Fibroadenoma- Breast tumor which does not occur due to cancer in young women which causes breast lumps and pain

How to treat Breast Pain?

Most of the time, breast pain can be treated simply by taking over-the-counter painkillers. Moreover, wearing supporting and fitted bras work as well. A cyclic form of breast pain is mostly unpredictable to detect and comes back time periodically. 

Home remedies for Breast Pain

• Wear well-fitted bra
• Try to sleep without or soft-support bra
• Use hot or cold compresses on the affected regions of the breasts
• Practicing relaxation techniques
• Apply evening primrose oil on the breast and massage them
• Take over-the-counter pain killer which contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen
• Wear a proper sports bra while performing intense physical activities
• Gels that contain ibuprofen or diclofenac that come under non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be applied and rubbed directly onto painful areas of the breast
• Avoid or quit smoking

Your doctor may suggest you some medications like 

• Toremifene
• Goserelin
• Tamoxifen
• Danazol
• Bromocriptine

What are some interesting facts to know about Breast pain?

• We think that breast pain always means it is a sign of breast cancer but breast cancer doesn’t include breast pain always most of the time.
• Breast pain occurs mostly in the perimenopausal and premenopausal phases of females
• Sometimes it’s hard to define the exact reason for breast pain 
• Breast pain can occur in males and transgender people as well
• You may need to get into medication treatment if your breast pain condition gets worst
• Breast pain most cases is curable and gets resolved on its own over some time.

Conclusion

Breast pain is scientifically also known as mastalgia, mammalgia, or mastodynia. Breast pain can be in cyclic and non-cyclic forms. According to the level of severity and causes of breast pain, your doctor might suggest different types of treatment methods to treat breast pain. Breast pain can be in cyclic and non-cyclic forms. Breast pain can affect males, females, and transgenders. 

The pain ranges from severe to mild breast pain. Detecting breast pain is quite easy and pretty clear most of the time. 50 to 70% of American women go through breast pain. Breast pain is quite common among females. Breast pain occurs due to various reasons and several underlying issues or disorders. Most of the time, breast pain can be treated simply by taking over-the-counter painkillers. Moreover, wearing supporting and fitted bras work as well.

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