All men have a small amount of breast tissue and, like women, can experience soreness or tenderness in the breasts. Breast pain, the medical term for which is mastalgia, rarely occurs in men, according to Mayo Clinic. Researchers and health care professionals note a link between caffeine use and breast pain. Caffeine occurs naturally in many plants and also is created synthetically. The chemicals in caffeine produce changes in breast tissue that can cause breast pain.
Breast Soreness
Breast pain in men is most commonly caused by hormonal changes during puberty or gynecomastia, a condition that causes the abnormal growth of breast tissue in men. Doctors recognize three types of breast pain. Cyclical mastalgia is related to menstrual cycles and hormonal changes in women. Noncyclical mastalgia has several causes, including trauma, nerve damage, arthritis, and certain foods and chemicals. Extra-mammary mastalgia is caused by changes in the chest wall, although patients usually believe the pain originates in the breast area. Men who experience breast soreness may need to eliminate other possible causes to identify caffeine as the culprit.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a diuretic and, since it stimulates the central nervous system, also is considered a stimulant. Caffeine is found in coffee, cocoa beans, kola nuts, tea leaves and chocolate, and is added to beverages and foods such as colas, energy drinks and energy bars. Caffeine also is added to many over-the-counter medications, including diet pills, pain relievers and cold medicines. Health care professionals consider moderate caffeine consumption, which is 200 to 300 mg daily for adults, to be safe. Higher levels can cause dependency and other side effects.
Methylxanthine
Research studies identify methylxanthine, a chemical found in caffeine, as a possible cause of breast pain. Although many studies of caffeine and breast pain focus on fibrocystic breast disease in women, Mayo Clinic reports that 61 percent of the women who participated in an uncontrolled study completed in 1996 reported alleviation of breast pain after reducing or eliminating dietary caffeine use. Methylxanthine causes the blood vessels in the breast to swell, according to Women to Women. The swelling causes breast distention, which can result in pain or tenderness in the breast.
Diagnosis and Treatment
Your doctor might perform a physical examination, conduct tests and take your history, including your caffeine use, to determine if caffeine is the cause of your breast soreness. Your doctor might recommend a reduction in caffeine use to reduce your breast soreness. Limiting caffeine, and the chemical methylxanthine, can reduce the pressure on breast tissue from swelling and distension that causes pain. Reduction in breast soreness after caffeine restriction can take up to a year, according to Mayo Clinic.
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