Most breast pain is noncancerous and benign. This means that it is not life threatening and may not require treatment. The medical term for breast pain is mastalgia. Physicians classify breast pain as either cyclical or non-cyclical. In other words, pain is either related to normal hormonal fluctuations during a woman's monthly cycle or it is not. By first determining the relationship to a woman's hormone levels, physicians also are able to narrow the field of potential causes for breast pain.
Cancer
Breast cancer can mean the loss of a breast or of life. Many women who experience breast pain fear cancer. According to American Family Physician, breast pain is more common in premenopausal women and rarely is a presenting symptom of breast cancer. Pain is a symptom of breast cancer but usually only with inflammatory breast cancer or when there is an ulcer or sore on the breast.
Infection
According to the National Library of Medicine, infection is another cause of breast pain. Infection, or mastitis, is more common in women who are currently breast feeding or pre-menopausal. When breast pain is associated with an apparent localized infection in post-menopausal women, physicians should also consider inflammatory breast cancer.
Trauma
According to the University of Virginia Health System, one cause of non-cyclical breast pain is trauma or a blow to the breast. The breast is made of mostly fatty tissue and lobules where milk is produced during breast feeding. Because of their anatomical structure and location on the chest, they are not protected by any bony prominences and are at risk for excessive movement during athletic activity.
Medications
According to Mayo Clinic, certain hormonal medications can be associated with breast pain. These medications can be infertility treatments, oral contraceptives, or estrogen or progesterone therapy for post-menopausal women. Physicians have also reported breast pain associated with the prescription of anti-depressants in the serotonin reuptake inhibitor classification. These SSRI medications include Prozac and Zoloft.
Size
Women who have large breasts can also have non-cyclical breast pain. According to the Mayo Clinic, this pain is primarily related to the size of the breast and the anatomical stress placed on the body. It is usually accompanied by neck, shoulder and upper back pain. While breast reduction surgery can eliminate the structural cause of the pain, the surgery also causes pain a the site of the incision, sometimes long after the incision has healed.
Hormonal
Breast pain that is related to hormones is classified as cyclical breast pain. According to American Family Physician this pain happens in both breasts at the same time. Women have a difficult time pinpointing an exact location for the pain, and they usually describe it as heaviness or soreness that radiates to the arm and under arm. In most cases, the pain subsides after menses and resolves spontaneously. Women who have fibrocystic breast changes will also suffer from cyclical breast pain that is related to the changes in their breast and the hormonal fluctuations in their body. Another source of hormonal breast pain is pregnancy. Breast soreness or swelling is one of the initial signs of pregnancy and is related to the hormonal changes in the body as the baby implants in the uterus and begins to grow.
Alcoholism
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, another common cause of breast pain is alcoholism that has lead to liver damage. Enzymes released from the liver cause mastalgia.
