Breast Pain

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What is Breast Pain?

Breast pain (mastalgia) and other breast changes are common from early development in girls, through menstruation and finally menopause and are mostly not a cause for concern. Breast changes are common for women throughout life. It is important to evaluate breast pain to determine whether the pain is due to normal physiological and hormone changes or due to a more serious condition, such as breast cancer.
Click here to learn more about the anatomy of the breast.

Who gets Breast Pain?

Breast pain is extremely common in women and some degree of breast pain is felt in virtually all women across their developmental lifespan. It is not until menopause that this pain decreases in severity or disappears altogether.

In a recent survey of women ragarding breast pain, 45 percent reported mild pain and 21 percent reported severe severe breast pain. However, many of these women had not reported this to a medical practitioner. Breast pain remains the most common breast related symptom presenting to medical services.

Breast pain can occasionally occur in men.

Predisposing Factors

Causes of Breast pain include:

Fibrocystic breast disease - a common, benign breast disorder where fluid filled cysts and fibrosis (thickening of tissue) occur throughout the breast.
On the majority of occasions, breast pain can be attributed to natural life occurrences, such as puberty and pregnancy, and can therefore be considered harmless.
Cyclic and Non-Cyclic mastalgia (breast pain associated/not associated with the menstrual cycle).
Premenstrual syndrome, cyclic mastalgia- breast pain is worst the week prior to menstruation.
Normal hormonal fluctuations.
Onset of puberty or menopause.
Pregnancy.
Breastfeeding (nursing).
Hormone Replacement Therapy - one third of women on HRT will get some breast pain which tends to resolve itself.
Trauma to the breast, mechanical or otherwise, including previous surgery.
Shingles.
An infection in the breast (breast abscess, mastitis) - most common in the one week after giving birth and is due to skin bacteria entering the breast.

Progression

Cyclic breast pain is typically most severe before your period and gets better during your period. It is considered to be bi-lateral, that is it effects each breast on a similar scale.

Noncyclic breast pain is typically unilateral (only on one side) with no relationship to your menstrual cycle.

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