Causes of pain in the mammary glands Girls and women of different ages can face such a problem as pain in the mammary glands. Most often, such pain occurs in representatives of childbearing age. At an older age, women are less likely to encounter this phenomenon. However, as soon as a girl encounters such a problem, she immediately has a lot of questions.


Pain can appear in one breast or in two at once. Unpleasant sensations can be temporary or permanent. In this article, we will tell you about the most common reasons for which pain can occur in the area of ​​the mammary glands.

Chest pain as a symptom of PMS

Every girl knows what PMS is. This unpleasant condition can be accompanied not only by general weakness, irritability and discomfort, but also painful sensations in the chest. As a rule, discomfort appears two to three days before the onset of menstruation. At this time, the breast becomes very sensitive and poured. Sometimes the discomfort is so pronounced that it becomes inconvenient even to wear a brassiere. If the pain is weakly expressed, then the doctor can not be treated, since this is normal. However, on a scheduled visit to a gynecologist, he still needs to talk about it.

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Before menses, the mammary glands are enlarged. So is provided by nature. The menstrual cycle determines the pattern of the hormonal background on different days of the month, and hormones( prolactin, progesterone and estrogen) affect the condition of lobules and excretory ducts in the chest.

In the second part of the monthly cycle, on the eve of ovulation, the sensitivity of the breast increases. Lobules and ducts of the mammary glands swell, as the amount of epithelial tissue in the breast increases. That is why painful feelings arise. Such changes are a kind of preparation for pregnancy. Pain in the mammary glands also occurs during pregnancy. When ovulation passes, and there is no pregnancy, the excess mass of epithelial tissue atrophies in the mammary glands and the pain disappears. This process accompanies the girls every menses.

Chest pain during pregnancy

During pregnancy, the hormonal background changes. Nature prepares the body of the future mother for the bearing of the fetus and for its development. Also, the breast is prepared for lactation. Blood flow in the area of ​​the mammary glands increases, and the breast itself becomes larger in size. Also, the mammary glands become very sensitive. Especially tight chest remains in the first three months. The future mother often experiences not only chest pain, but also tingling in the nipples. Experiencing this is not worth it, since this is a normal physiological process, which is provoked by a change in the hormonal background.

Many gynecologists are confident that during pregnancy the breast is formed definitively, and this is an excellent prevention of breast cancer and mastopathy. To reduce pain, you need to wear special underwear and do a relaxing massage under a warm shower.

Chest pain with lactostasis

During lactation, milk stagnation in the mammary gland can occur. This leads to the appearance of painful sensations in the chest. If the baby drinks less milk than is produced, the residues should be decanted to avoid stagnation. Lactostasis can also occur for other reasons. For example, due to trauma of the mammary glands, with long intervals between feeding, when wearing low-quality underwear, with active milk secretion and the like.

disease appears first tingling sensation in the chest( on one side or on both at once).Over time, the affected part of the breast blushes, thickens, the body temperature rises, and the chest becomes full. To prevent the development of lactostasis, it is necessary to exclude all factors that can provoke it. Once the disease is detected, it is treated promptly. Most often, doctors prescribe traditional methods of treatment: Frequent applying crumbs to the breast, massage under a warm shower, applying a cabbage leaf, iodine mesh. Well helps ointment Traumeel S.

Chest pain with mastitis

Mastitis is an inflammation of the breast. The disease is dangerous if it is not treated. Most often, mastitis occurs because of breastfeeding. The thing is that if you do not start lactostasis on time, then it goes into another form - mastitis. Also, during breastfeeding, a woman's breast is absolutely vulnerable to various infections that can trigger the development of mastitis.

Infection, as a rule, penetrates through cracks in the nipples. They can arise for various reasons. However, if a girl sees this problem in herself, she should be urgently resolved. Timely treatment of cracks on the nipples reduces the risk of developing mastitis. Unfortunately, the disease begins sharply - in the chest there is a strong puffiness, pain, redness. The body temperature rises. The amount of milk is reduced, and the expression of milk does not bring relief. Often a woman has to interrupt breastfeeding. In the first stages, mastitis is treated with compresses and a warm shower. If treatment does not work, then antibiotics are prescribed.

Chest pain with mastopathy

Changes in the hormonal background can provoke a benign change in the tissues of the mammary glands. This phenomenon is called mastopathy. About 75% of women between the ages of 25 and 45 are facing this phenomenon. The main symptom is a tightness in the chest. Also, from the nipples, a liquid of transparent or grayish color begins to be released. With palpation, the seals are clearly visible, so you and your gynecologist will immediately find them.

Mastopathy can occur as a result of abortion, stress, inflammation in the uterine appendages, poor heredity and so on. After the detection of seals, the gynecologist directs the patient to the mammalogy, and the latter directs them to ultrasound and mammograms. Depending on the degree and type of mastopathy, treatment is prescribed. Diffuse form of mastopathy is characterized by excessive proliferation of glandular tissue. This form is successfully treated with hormonal medications and homeopathy. With knotty mastopathy, surgical treatment is prescribed.

Prevention of mastopathy is: limiting stress, maintaining regular sexual activity, monitoring body weight, the first birth to 25 years, breastfeeding.

Chest pain after mechanical trauma

Chest pain may occur due to severe compression or stroke. It is very important to wear only quality and comfortable underwear, which tightly fixes the breast, but does not compress the mammary glands and does not violate the natural processes of blood circulation in it. Avoid blows to the mammary glands.

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is a serious disease that can occur for various reasons. It is not so simple to reveal it at the initial stages simply because painful sensations at the first stages appear extremely rarely. The first symptoms that indicate this disease: weight loss, the appearance of ulcers on the skin, swelling in the chest. With such symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Remember that all diseases are treated successfully if you contact a doctor in time. If you are concerned for a long time with the pain in the mammary glands, if you have seals, redness, discharge from the nipples, or other symptoms, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible and get tested.