Breast pain is a common problem for many women, though men can also experience breast pain and tenderness. Women with painful breasts may notice pain feels cyclical, or occurs during the same time each month, and can occur in one or both breasts. While the cause of breast pain is not always known, both women and men should consider consulting a physician about breast pain that becomes persistent or concerning, whether or not a breast lump is present.
Hormonal Changes
Hormonal changes can cause breast pain for both men and women. The National Institutes of Health advise that young women and boys can experience breast pain and tenderness from the influx of budding reproductive hormones. Older women may have hormone-related breast pain around the time of menstruation each month, while decreasing hormone levels during menopause can play a factor later in life. Hormone fluctuations in the first trimester of pregnancy can cause breast pain as well. Pregnancy related breast pain generally resolves as pregnancy hormones level out in the second trimester.
Using hormone-based medications such as birth control, infertility treatments and hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, can also trigger breast pain.
Fibrocystic Breasts
The Mayo Clinic website, MayoClinic.com reports that fifty percent of women will experience fibroids in the breast at some point. Fibroids are lumps of breast tissue that have become hardened due to hormone changes. Fibroids can be felt inside the breast during breast exam and cause the breast to feel lumpy. Touching the fibroids may prove painful, though the breasts may feel consistently painful or tender.
The American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology assures that breast fibroids are non-cancerous; however a woman should check with her physician anytime she has concerns about a breast lump as fibroid lumps can become difficult to determine from harmful lumps. Wearing supportive sports bra and taking anti-inflammatory medications, such as acetaminophen, may help reduce pain from fibroids.
Breast Infection
Infection inside the breast can cause pain. Breast infection can occur in women who breastfeed. During lactation, infection can enter a milk duct and cause inflammation inside the breast tissue, causing pain and inflammation. Non-lactating women can also develop infection in the breast, though Cedar-Sinai Medical Center states this occurs less commonly.
Pain may present as throbbing in the entire breast, or localized to one area. Reddened skin and breast swelling, as well as clear or colored nipple discharge may be present. Women who are lactating may notice a reduction in milk flow from the painful breast. For both lactating and non-lactating women, breast infection generally affects only one breast.
