What causes breast pain?

Pain on the edge of the breast is mainly related to certain reasons. For example, many women feel breast pain that is sometimes mild and sometimes severe, especially during adolescence, development, lactation, and before and after menstruation. These stages can cause breast pain, which is physiological pain. However, if pain occurs at an abnormal stage, it should be considered to be caused by pathological factors.

What causes breast pain?

1. Breast pain during adolescence: The earliest breast pain in women usually occurs between the ages of 9 and 13. This is a sign that a girl's breasts are beginning to develop. First, the nipples begin to bulge and there is a slight feeling of pain. After the first menstruation, it will gradually disappear as the breasts mature during puberty. However, if an adolescent girl develops a lump in her breast, it is likely to be breast fibroadenoma and she needs to go to the hospital for treatment. Minimally invasive surgery can easily remove the lump without leaving scars and without affecting appearance and breastfeeding. She can also be observed regularly and treated when preparing for pregnancy.

2. Premenstrual breast pain: Many women experience breast fullness, hardness, and pain when touched before their period. Physiological breast pain is often related to menstruation. Premenstrual breast pain is the most common type of breast pain, accounting for about 65% of all breast pain. The average age of onset is 35 years old. The pain often occurs or worsens 3-7 days before menstruation, and gradually subsides or disappears after menstruation. The degree of pain is not consistent from month to month, and is often a feeling of heaviness, distension, dull pain, or occasional short-term tingling, and is often accompanied by tender breast nodules, which worsens with compression, activity, or lifting heavy objects.

Premenstrual breast pain may be a sign of breast hyperplasia. In mild cases, the breasts may become swollen, hard, and tender, but the pain is tolerable and will disappear naturally with the arrival of menstruation. In severe cases, the breasts will be extremely painful when subjected to slight vibrations, such as during running or collision, and the pain does not subside even after the menstrual period ends. This is mainly caused by increased estrogen levels in the body before menstruation, breast hyperplasia, and edema of the breast interstitial tissue. After menstruation, estrogen levels drop and the above changes disappear. However, some breast pain does not change with the menstrual cycle, has no fixed time, and lasts for a long time. These women are mostly around 40-45 years old, slightly older than those with physiological pain. The pain is limited to the breast and is relatively shallow. Patients with mild breast hyperplasia do not need to be nervous, but if the pain is irregular, is not well relieved after menstruation, and the patient is under great psychological pressure, affecting diet and sleep, appropriate treatment can be carried out.

3. Breast tenderness during pregnancy: Some women experience breast tenderness around 40 days after pregnancy due to the placenta and villi secreting large amounts of estrogen, progesterone and prolactin, which cause breast hyperplasia and breast enlargement. The pain usually lasts for 3-4 months. In severe cases, the pain persists throughout the pregnancy. This is the body preparing for breastfeeding and does not require treatment.

4. Postpartum breast pain: Breast fullness, hardness and pain often occur 3 to 7 days after delivery. This is mainly caused by breast lymph retention, venous congestion, interstitial edema and obstructed mammary ducts. The prevention and treatment method is for the mother to breastfeed as early as possible. If there are lumps, you can apply hot compresses to the breasts before breastfeeding; you can also use appropriate milk ejection techniques to promote the patency of the mammary ducts.

5. Breast pain after artificial abortion: After artificial abortion, some women experience breast pain and a lump can be felt. This is because the pregnancy is suddenly interrupted, which causes the hormone levels in the body to drop sharply, causing the newly developed mammary glands to suddenly stop growing, resulting in breast lumps and breast pain.