What causes chest pain in women?

Chest pain in women usually manifests as pain when pressing the chest skin, nipple tenderness, painful lumps in the chest, and sensitive tenderness. There are many reasons for breast pain in women. For example, short-term pain caused by lifestyle habits or improper behavior is called external factors, including sleeping posture problems, clothing problems, etc.; physical factors are usually caused by direct or indirect dietary problems, which cause physical discomfort in women. In severe cases, women suffer from complications caused by certain physical diseases, which may cause prolonged breast pain in women. For example, if women drink coffee for a long time, the caffeine they consume will directly cause chest pain in women; there are many factors caused by physical diseases, such as breast hyperplasia, etc., and you need to go to the hospital for consultation.

Analyze some common contributing factors and propose improvement methods.

1. Premenstrual syndrome

This is a syndrome related to the female menstrual cycle. Before the menstrual period, due to hormonal changes, the body will experience a series of discomforts, including fatigue, headaches, mood swings and breast tenderness. This type of breast pain is called cyclical pain because it is closely related to a woman's menstrual period and is the body's normal response to changes in estrogen.

2. Excessive exercise

Doing push-ups or weightlifting frequently can cause chest pain, but this pain is not breast pain, but soreness caused by exercising the chest muscles. Because the pectoral muscles are located under the breast tissue, the relaxation and tightening caused by exercise can cause swelling and pain, and many women mistakenly believe that this is breast pain. A heating pad can help relieve this type of muscle pain.

3. Underwear that doesn’t fit

Ill-fitting bras can wreak havoc on your breasts. If the bra is too tight or the cup is too small, the underwire will squeeze the breasts for a long time, causing breast pain. However, if the bra is too large, the breasts will not get enough support and will move up and down throughout the day, which will also cause breast pain. Professionals recommend that women should test their bust circumference twice a year and buy bras of the right size; do not wear bras for long periods of time and replace them with new ones regularly.

4. Breast lumps

If you have lumpy breast tissue in your breasts, especially fibrocystic breast tissue, you are more likely to experience period-related breast tenderness. This lumpy, uneven breast tissue is usually fluid-filled cysts that are less likely to develop into breast cancer, but they are more sensitive to hormonal changes, the National Breast Cancer Foundation says.

5. Excessive caffeine intake

There's no evidence that coffee and tea directly cause breast pain, but some studies have found that reducing caffeine intake can help relieve discomfort, especially in women with fibrocystic breast tissue. Therefore, in order to maintain breast health, you should give up the habit of drinking large amounts of coffee every day.

Generally speaking, women don't need to worry too much about temporary breast pain and sensitivity, which usually lasts for a few days and then disappears. However, if the pain persists or worsens, seek medical attention immediately. At the same time, you should check your breasts regularly to see if there are any changes in their appearance, texture, or touch. If you find any abnormalities, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible to avoid delaying the condition.