Many women experience breast pain or breast tenderness during the menopausal period. Menopause is characterized by the stage in a woman's life when menstruation ceases permanently. This usually happens during the mid-fifties but could at times occur much earlier. While mild breast pain is felt by women during pregnancy or menstruation, it seldom lasts after those times. But as women approach menopause, there might be severe breast pain which could continue for a long time if proper care is not taken.
Causes
Hormonal imbalances are believed to be the most common reason for female breast pain during menopause. During this phase, the ovaries produce lower levels of estrogen and progesterone gradually. This causes the levels of the two hormones to vary asynchronously, thus producing conditions wherein the female breasts swell up and cause pain for prolonged periods.
Symptoms
Breast pain is usually associated with symptoms of swelling, tenderness and soreness of the breasts. During menopause, these feelings of discomfort usually become more severe. Breast pain is also characterized by increased sensitivity to touch, heaviness in the breasts, sensitivity to pressure, aches and pain while sleeping. These symptoms could occur in one breast at a time or it could be experienced in both the breasts at the same time.
Medical Treatment
One of the therapies that are applied for menopausal breast pain is hormone replacement treatment (HRT). This is a method of boosting the levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone in the female body with the help of some medicines. However, this therapy is used only if the conditions are very severe. HRT has lost popularity after the findings of the National Institute of Health that there was a greater incidence of breast cancer, strokes and heart attacks among women undergoing this therapy.
For less severe conditions, it is better to resort to alternative therapies that do not pose any risk, such as acupressure, hypnotherapy, herbal therapy, etc.
Herbal Alternatives
Herbal treatment is gaining in popularity because it is cost-effective and no side effects have been observed. There are mainly two types of herbs that aid in the treatment of menopausal breast pain. They are called non-estrogenic and phytoestrogenic herbs. Phytoestrogenic herbs such as black cohosh are rich in plant-based estrogens, and they improve the hormonal imbalance in the female body during menopause by increasing estrogen levels. Non-estrogenic herbs such as Macafem do not contain estrogen, but they do stimulate the endocrine and pituitary glands to increase the production of hormones. This leads to improvement in hormonal balance in the body and acts as a cure for menopausal breast pain.
Lifestyle Changes
Reduction in stress with the help of meditation, yoga and other relaxation techniques goes a long way in alleviating menopausal breast pain. Regular mild exercises and a nutritious diet will make the female body better prepared to face the biological changes during and after menopause. A diet that acts towards balancing the hormonal levels can help the female body to regulate its menopausal activities and reduce or remove symptoms such as breast pain. Such a diet should include apples, yam and cherries, along with green leafy vegetables and wheat.
