Many women take up running to promote cardiovascular health, weight loss and overall fitness, but find that running leads to breast pain and tenderness. Up to 50 percent of women experience breast pain when exercising, according to University of Portsmouth scientist Dr. Joanna Scurr. Although the causes generally aren't serious, the discomfort may tempt you to give up running. With a few preventive measures and proper clothing, you can continue to reap the health benefits of running while avoiding breast soreness.
Causes
Your breasts consist primarily of fatty tissue and mammary glands. The muscle that is present is so deep, it doesn't provide much breast support, a job left up to the thin bands known as Cooper's ligaments. Continuous running causes your breasts to bounce repeatedly, moving up and down and side to side. This can stretch the Cooper's ligaments permanently and result in drooping breasts. Breast soreness from running can also be caused by jogger's nipple, a friction burn created by the movement of clothing while running.
Solution
Wear a proper-fitting sports bra that gives you support to prevent bouncing up and down as well as movement side to side. A good sports bra can also prevent jogger's nipples, although you can also cover them with zinc oxide tape before running. Hormonal changes, premenstrual syndrome and benign cysts can contribute to breast soreness in general. It may help to eliminate caffeine and decrease the saturated fat in your diet. Using an over-the-counter pain reliever and evening primrose oil capsules may also help.
Sports Bras
Dr. Scurr notes that medication to reduce breast pain was only successful for 54 percent of women, whereas sports bras reduce breast pain for 80 percent of women, with no side effects. Breasts move just as much during slow jogging as fast running, and although women with larger breasts may experience more back and shoulder pain from running, in general, exercise-related breast pain isn't related to your cup size. Compression bras that compress the breasts against the chest may be suitable for smaller-breasted women, whereas an encapsulation bra, which keeps the breast separate in defined cups, is more effective for larger women. Look for fabrics with limited stretch, seamless cups and straps that are at least 1 inch wide.
Considerations
Breast pain can be caused by benign fibrocystic breast disease, breast cysts or breast trauma. It can also originate outside the breast, in the chest wall, muscles, joints or heart, and radiate to the breast. For these reasons, if the pain you experience during running carries over into your regular daily routine, check with your doctor to make certain there isn't an underlying cause.
References
- Sports Injury Clinic: Breast Pain in Female Athletes
- Science Daily; Bouncing Breasts Spark New Bra Challenge; September 2007
- Columbia University Health Center; Sports Bras to Help Stabilize Rocking Breasts?; February 2000
- MayoClinic.com; Breast Pain; July 2010
- "Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport"; An Analysis of Movement and Discomfort of the Female Breast during Exercise and the Effects of Breast Support in Three Cases; B.R. Mason; June 1999
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