Pain not associated with disease
To start, we will list the likely causes of chest pain that are not related to disease. Most often, these reasons are observed in most women, so do not worry about your health and life.Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
Fluctuations in hormone levels are the most common cause of breast pain in women between 20 and over. The physiological decrease in estrogen levels and the simultaneous increase in progesterone in the second half of the menstrual cycle leads, among other things, to water retention in the glandular tissue. The chest becomes heavy, swollen, painful.
In some women, elevated prolactin levels may be responsible for this symptom. The pain, in this case, pulling, weak, regularly appears a few days before menstruation and disappears with the onset of bleeding. This is one of the symptoms of PMS - premenstrual syndrome.
Periodic chest pains before menstruation are sometimes almost imperceptible, do not appear every cycle, but sometimes they become a serious problem for the fairer sex. They limit physical activity, cause irritability, nervousness, and contribute to depression.
Pregnancy and childbirth
Chest pain during pregnancy can be stabbing and intermittent, or continuous. It can appear as early as 5 weeks: the breasts become swollen and tender to the touch. Correctly selected linen, cold compresses or a contrast shower (alternating hot and cold water) can help in this case.
After giving birth, every third woman suffers from inflammation of the mammary glands. This is due to the fact that the milk ducts are clogged, as a result of which the breast swells and becomes inflamed, becomes tender to the touch. Use a breast pump to solve this problem. Despite the pain, you do not need to refuse to feed the baby. You can also use cabbage compresses, medicinal ointments, massages.
Exercise, injury, or inappropriate bra
Breast tenderness can have a trivial cause - for example, injury caused by the strong pressure of the seat belts in the car during hard braking or excessive physical exertion.
Women who wear oversized bras also suffer from this symptom. Too loose underwear does not support the breast well, too tight - deforms. Pay attention to these points.
Pain associated with diseases
Unfortunately, breast diseases are not uncommon lately. Therefore, pain can signal exactly one or another ailment.Mastopathy
If chest pain is accompanied by swelling, hardness, and endometriosis (many lumps on the breast), this may indicate mastitis.
With this disease, chest pain goes away simultaneously with the onset of menstruation, and then returns again. The cause of mastopathy is usually (very low levels of progesterone in relation to estrogens). Such changes tend to occur in women over the age of 30; after menopause, the disease gradually disappears.
To confirm mastopathy, the doctor will prescribe an ultrasound scan, a test for the level of hormones in the blood, and sometimes a mammogram. If breast cancer is not suspected, you must restore hormonal balance. Also, do not forget to be examined by a mammologist once a year. This is important because cysts can form in the overgrown breast tissue.
Cyst
Usually, only large cysts can cause pain that radiates into the armpit. But in the early stages, these neoplasms are too small. Cysts appear between 30 and 50 years of age. These are bubbles filled with liquid. They are smooth to the touch and can easily slide between your fingers.
To diagnose a cyst, your doctor will order an ultrasound scan or mammogram, and sometimes a biopsy. In case of chest pain, a biopsy will provide immediate relief.
Fibroadenoma
Fibroadenoma rarely causes chest pain - only in case of sudden growth, when it comes to hemorrhage in the tumor tissue. Fibroadenoma of the breast is smooth and hard on palpation, it can be the size of a pea or a small lemon. It grows more often near the nipple.
Usually, women under 30 years old, including adolescent girls, suffer from fibroadenoma. It is formed due to the overgrowth of the glandular and fibrous tissue of the breast.
In order to confirm the diagnosis, an ultrasound scan and possibly a biopsy are done to examine the tissue under a microscope for the presence of tumor cells. Fibroadenoma rarely causes cancer in women under the age of 25, and therefore, they simply remain under the supervision of a doctor. But at the request of the patient, the neoplasm can be removed. Middle-aged and older women should undergo surgery as they have a much higher risk of developing a malignant tumor.
Papillomas
The chest pain caused by papilloma can be very severe. This is because papilloma forms on the milk ducts, blocking them and leading to the development of painful inflammation and abscesses. Papillomas are found in women between the ages of 40-50, before menopause. Often, the disease is detected by pressing on the chest or nipple - in this case, a gray or milky liquid is released. This fluid can also be stained with blood. The patient is assigned an operation.
Mammary cancer
Breast pain caused by cancer only appears when the nodule is at least 2 centimeters (2 inches) in size. That is why it is so important to see a doctor immediately after detecting any changes in the breast.
According to world statistics, pain in the mammary glands worries from 40 to 75% of women, mainly at the age of 40-59 years. Why does the chest hurt and for what reasons can it happen? Let's figure it out.
A significant proportion of cases of seeking medical help in this regard falls on women in the menopausal period. The nature of unpleasant sensations in the chest is hidden in the mysterious word "involution", which denotes the extinction of the function of the mammary glands, the gradual transition of the glandular tissue into an "inactive" state.
In women with a preserved menstrual cycle, which means that they are potentially ready for conception, childbirth and lactation, as well as in pregnant women, pain in the mammary glands is also often noted.
In this article, we will consider three painful conditions of the mammary glands: mastalgia, mastopathy in women of reproductive age, and separately - mastopathy in pregnant women.
Most women are familiar with the feeling of heaviness, tingling in the area of \u200b\u200bthe mammary glands, which is usually a harbinger of the imminent onset of menstruation. It is known that towards the end of the menstrual cycle, a woman's weight increases slightly due to the accumulation of fluid. Water is distributed in adipose tissue (which, by the way, is also rich in the mammary gland!), Muscles and other tissues. Many people notice that before menstruation it is difficult to button up their usual shoes due to swelling of the ankles.
Edema of the mammary glands also occurs, which sometimes even increases the size of clothes.
These phenomena can range from mild discomfort to severe pain requiring the use of painkillers.
In the latter case, it is customary to talk about premenstrual syndrome, which can include mood swings, pain in the lower back, minor joint pain.
The reason for this accumulation of fluid is a change in the water-salt balance under the influence of an increase in the level of estrogen and antidiuretic hormone.
Why can chest hurt after menstruation
It is important to understand that the described processes occurring in the mammary gland (pain, engorgement, except for the detection of foci, nodes, "nodules") cyclically, regularly in the last days of the menstrual cycle, and subsiding until normalization immediately after the end of menstruation, most often represent a variant of the norm that does not require special correction or additional examination. It is more correct to call this condition mastalgia or mastodynia, in order to distinguish it from mastopathy, which requires more attention.
There is a whole list of conditions with which mastopathy is most often combined. These conditions are believed to be based on hormonal imbalance:
- premenstrual syndrome;
- dysfunctional uterine bleeding;
- polycystic ovary;
- endometriosis;
- uterine fibroids.
It is customary to distinguish between diffuse and nodular forms of mastopathy.
Diffuse form
With this form of mastopathy, a specific focus of compaction cannot be detected. All glands usually feel woody to the touch. Instrumental examination methods, such as X-ray mammography or ultrasound, will not reveal anything except the general "blur" of the image.
Nodal form
Detection of a dense focus in the mammary gland requires additional research methods, primarily a puncture biopsy using a special needle. This is especially true in the postmenopausal period, when the risk of oncological diseases increases sharply.
Both forms of mastopathy are easy enough to diagnose on their own: there are self-examination techniques, the main point of which is attentive step-by-step palpation (palpation) of the mammary glands in a standing and lying position.
Thus, the occurrence of unpleasant sensations and the determination of the compaction of the entire breast or part of it are sufficient grounds for an urgent visit to the mammologist.
The main causes of mastopathy
- Ovarian dysfunction
An increased content of the main female sex hormones - estrogens - has several adverse effects. First, the so-called ovulatory cycle is disrupted, that is, with a preserved menstrual cycle, the germ cell does not reach the required maturity, and ovulation does not occur.
In this state, the structure of the mammary gland also suffers: the inner lining of the milk ducts becomes loose, the number of cells increases in it (this is called epithelial proliferation), and there is a feeling of engorgement and bursting.
The stagnation of fluid and swelling of the gland tissue intensify. This is especially clearly felt in the premenstrual period, when the amount of estrogen in the blood gradually increases. This is why prescribing progesterone-containing external agents (for example, progestogel gel) and combined oral contraceptives usually reduces the symptoms of mastopathy.
- Liver pathology
It was shown that in 65% of women with liver damage, one or another type of mastopathy is determined. Moreover, the more serious the disorder of the inactivating function of the liver (that is, the worse the liver neutralizes toxins), the more pronounced the mastopathy is.
- Dysfunction of the thyroid gland, like any hormonal imbalance, can lead to the development of mastopathy.
- Obesity.
- Previous injuries and diseases of the breast, such as mastitis.
- Herpetic infection. Pain sensations in this case, most likely, will have a paresthesia mechanism, that is, the appearance in the chest of unpleasant sensations, distorted and sometimes unbearably strong, but with no apparent reason.
Why is epithelial proliferation dangerous?
Strictly speaking, proliferation is the accelerated growth and increase in the size of any cells in the body. This phenomenon can occur in any organ and tissue, not only in the mammary gland. These cells can simply increase, they can surround themselves with fibrous (dense) fibers, they can form cavities, which are subsequently filled with a colorless liquid ... In a word, breast cells in mastopathy, although they "go astray", but still live according to certain rules predetermined nature.
It is much worse if they begin to live without rules, multiply very quickly, chaotically, disrupting the vital activity of the entire gland, and the whole organism. This is how a tumor appears, benign (that is, for the time being not poisoning the rest of the body) or malignant.
The borderline of the transition of mastopathy to a tumor is so thin that only an oncologist can diagnose the deterioration of the situation in time and decide on the necessary treatment.
Why does the chest hurt during pregnancy
The cause of painful sensations in the mammary glands during pregnancy is an increase in the number and volume of glandular cells, which in the future will perform the function of lactation (milk secretion). In addition, the ducts that excrete milk expand, their network becomes more branched.
All these rearrangements require an active blood supply. The blood filling of the mammary glands increases, and if we take into account the fact that during pregnancy, in principle, there is a tendency to accumulate fluid in the body, it becomes clear that swelling and soreness of the breast is not so uncommon for a woman in an "interesting" position.
Occur in pregnant women and focal seals - most often as a result of wearing uncomfortable underwear. In this case, one small area of \u200b\u200bthe gland is "pulled over" (most often - the inner sector), pain, redness, and an increase in body temperature may develop. During examination, the so-called "colostrum" cells are revealed in the discharge from the nipple, signaling the preparation of the gland for lactation.
Therapeutic and prophylactic actions for painful sensations in the chest
It is clear that the mammary gland is a delicate organ that requires attention and care. That is why, despite the abundance of folk remedies for relieving painful tension in the chest, as well as a huge selection of various vitamins in pharmacies, self-medication is still not worth it. Well-proven remedies are applying a cabbage leaf to painful areas and applying an absorbable gel or Traumeel ointment.
This set, perhaps, should be limited, and if home remedies do not help within 3-4 days, you should immediately contact a mammologist. Avoid taking hot showers or baths during pregnancy, as this can cause additional blood flow to the breasts and more swelling.
The human breast is a pair of mammary glands that attach to the pectoral muscles. In men, the mammary glands do not develop normally and are rudimentary; in women, during puberty, the breast enlarges and takes on a hemispherical shape.
Based on these physiological characteristics, most women often refer to pain in the breast as breast pain, and in men - pain in the pectoral muscles. Moreover, women usually associate this manifestation with the approaching menstruation and consider it the norm, and men write off the pain for malaise or excessive diligence in training in the gym.
However, in both, chest pain can be not only a physiological manifestation (for example, during menstruation, during lactation or after excessive exertion), it can also serve as an alarming symptom of a serious illness.
Causes and manifestations of chest pain
Hormonal abnormalities in the body
The mammary gland is an organ whose growth and development are controlled by sex hormones. Therefore, the main explanation why a woman's chest hurts is a change in the normal ratio of hormones that affect the tissues and cells of the mammary glands. The hormonal background in the weaker sex may change due to the reasons listed below.
Monthly fluctuations in different phases of the menstrual cycle.
Before menstruation, there is an increase in the content of hormones in the body (which is considered the norm), designed to preserve a possible pregnancy. At this time, the breast enlarges and slightly hurts due to stretching of the capsule, or itches due to irritation of the superficial nerve endings of the stretched skin. When you press on the nipple, a few drops of colorless or yellowish liquid may come out of it. With the onset of menstruation, the painful sensations in a woman disappear, the mammary glands after menstruation return to their original size and become soft.
In the middle of the cycle, there may also be a short soreness in the chest, along with pain in the lower abdomen, arising from the action of hormones that ensure the release of the egg from the ovary. After ovulation, pains of this kind disappear without a trace, the breast tissue does not change.
If a woman has a hormonal imbalance in the direction of the predominance of estrogens for a long time, their excessive amount can lead to permanent tissue edema and the development of mastopathy. In such cases, the chest is poured, swells and hurts a lot. The pain is so intense that the woman cannot wear a bra or other tight clothing. In addition, changes appear in the tissues of the mammary gland in the form of severity or small nodules.
Mastopathy is no longer considered a physiological manifestation of a drop in hormone levels, it is a disease that requires a careful approach to treatment.
Influence of the hormones progesterone and prolactin during pregnancy
In the first trimester of pregnancy, the breast may ache due to the effect on the breast tissue of progesterone, a hormone that keeps pregnancy. Under its influence, the alveolar tissue grows, the gland increases in volume, preparing to perform the subsequent function of lactation.
By about the beginning of 12 weeks, when the preservation of pregnancy passes to the placenta, the chest pains decrease. At the end of the third trimester of pregnancy, the body begins to prepare for childbirth and feeding, prolactin production increases, so the breast becomes plump and painful again.
Increased milk production and enlargement of the gland during lactation
Immediately after childbirth, prolactin and oxytocin increase milk production and excretion, resulting in painful breast enlargement. When breastfeeding "on demand" is observed, the soreness in the mammary glands of a nursing mother quickly disappears.
If milk stagnation occurs or an infection has joined, then mastitis develops - a disease that is characterized not only by severe pain in the chest, but also by reddening of the skin and the appearance of a swollen focus of compaction (often on the sides of the mammary glands), as well as a deterioration in the general condition of a woman and an increase in body temperature ...
Changes in the gland due to termination of pregnancy
After an abortion, your breasts can hurt for about a week. This time is necessary to naturally reduce the concentration of pregnancy hormones and reduce their effect on the mammary glands. If the soreness is observed for a longer period after termination of pregnancy, you should consult a doctor to find out the cause. One of the options for the development of such a situation may be the continued growth of the ovum after an unsuccessful abortion, for example, if a woman tried to get rid of pregnancy on her own with the help of medication.
In other cases, the cause of prolonged chest pain after abortion (especially frequent and repeated) is severe dysregulation of sex hormones, which can lead to mastopathy, various genital diseases and infertility.
Gynecomastia
Hormonal disturbances in the male body can lead to gynecomastia (literally “female-like breasts”). When it appears, in addition to soreness in the chest, in men, the growth of alveolar tissues occurs, the mammary gland increases and takes the form of a female breast.
This pathology occurs in the case of a violation in the body of the stronger sex of the production of male sex hormones and / or excessive secretion of female sex hormones. The reason for the occurrence of such hormonal imbalance and the following gynecomastia can be:
- the presence of tumors;
- the use of hormonal drugs for the treatment of cancer (testicular cancer),
- taking drugs for a quick set of muscle mass (anabolic steroids);
- endocrine system diseases (diabetes mellitus and thyroid dysfunction);
- liver or kidney disease;
- taking alcohol and drugs (marijuana, heroin);
- the use of certain types of antibiotics, tranquilizers, as well as drugs for the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and the cardiovascular system.
Non-hormonal causes of pain
The chest can also hurt for reasons not related to hormones, for example, after bruises and against the background of certain infectious diseases (shingles). Also, chest pains in both men and women can occur after resistance training, for example: in cases of selecting the wrong weight, improper technique or working with record weights.
A situation of one-sided pain, when, for example, the right chest hurts in isolation, it can also appear due to trauma and sprains (most often, damage to the pectoral muscles and ligaments occurs when doing bench presses). In the event of such an injury, pain may be accompanied by swelling, edema and bruising in the sternum and shoulder area, as well as weakness or dysfunction of the arm and disruption of the natural contour of the injured pectoral muscle.
If the left breast hurts in isolation, first of all it is necessary to exclude diseases of the cardiovascular system (angina pectoris, heart attack), since ischemic pain in the heart can be disguised as pain in the mammary gland, and also irradiate ("shoot") into the area of \u200b\u200bthe scapula, neck, jaw , abdomen, shoulder or left arm. Pains of this nature are usually very strong, tearing, pressing and burning, which distinguishes them from muscle pain.
Also in the left side of the sternum, pains not associated with the heart may appear, which may be caused by:
- cervical or chest osteochondrosis;
- scoliosis;
- muscle weakness in the thoracic spine;
- costal cartilage disease;
- stress, depression or neurosis;
- bloating;
- disease of the stomach or pancreas;
- and much more.
Breast cancer
Cancer can also cause soreness in the chest area in both women and men. Despite the fact that in men the mammary glands are naturally not developed in the event of endocrine disorders, as well as due to cirrhosis of the liver, genetic diseases, unfavorable heredity or radiation exposure, they are also susceptible to breast cancer, although this happens very rarely. In women, on the other hand, breast cancer ranks first among oncological diseases.
Breast cancer is usually painless in the early stages, but breast cancer symptoms of both sexes develop specifically for cancer: a firm nodule is felt, skin changes (lemon peel) and nipple retraction are visible, and lymph nodes are enlarged.
For early detection of both malignant and benign neoplasms in the mammary gland, it is necessary to conduct regular breast self-examination. The video will tell you how to do this correctly.
Diagnosis and treatment for chest pain
Treatment of chest pains resulting from injuries of ligaments and muscles should begin with a visit to the surgeon, if you suspect a pathology in the work of the heart, you should urgently consult a cardiologist, with osteochondrosis and other problems with the spine - to a neurologist, in case of problems with the gastrointestinal tract - to a gastroenterologist. Alternatively, you can simply seek help from your GP and then follow his direction.
In case of pain in the area of \u200b\u200bthe mammary gland, as well as the appearance of other symptoms (enlargement of the gland, the appearance of discharge, etc.), women need to make an appointment with a mammologist or gynecologist, and men with a mammologist or surgeon. The doctor will pay attention to the appearance of the mammary glands, symmetry, the presence of seals and their consistency, the condition of the nipple and breast skin, as well as the axillary, supra- and subclavian lymph nodes. Already at the stage of questioning and external examination, a preliminary cause of pain in the chest can be established.
Further examination to identify the causes of breast pathologies may include the following steps:
- Ultrasound - allows you to determine the formation in the soft tissues of the breast larger than 0.5 cm. This study is preferable for young and nulliparous women.
- Mammography is a type of X-ray examination of the mammary glands, in which even the smallest nodules located deep in the breast are determined. This method is widely used both for primary diagnosis and for monitoring the growth rate of detected neoplasms. For young women, mammography is done only when indicated.
- Ductography - the introduction of a special substance into the lactiferous ducts for a subsequent X-ray. The contrast fills the branched system of excretory ducts, and this makes it possible to assess the preservation of the internal structure and functional tissues of the mammary glands.
- Biopsy - this method allows, without incision, using a very thin needle, under the control of an ultrasound probe, to take a piece of breast tissue for microscopic examination and determine the type of altered cells. The choice of treatment tactics often depends on the results of a biopsy - if malignant cells are found, a radical removal of the breast is performed.
- MRI and / or ultrasound of the chest and abdominal cavity, small pelvis and head - to determine the primary disease that caused chest pain (if there is a suspicion that changes in the mammary gland are the consequences of metastasis of a tumor of the uterus, lungs, liver and other organs) ...
The treatment prescribed will depend on the established cause of the chest pain.
For example:
- with manifestations of premenstrual syndrome or ovulatory pain, treatment is usually limited to the use of vitamins and herbal preparations with mild hormonal activity;
- if purulent inflammation of the mammary gland is detected, it is often recommended to take a course of taking antibacterial drugs inside, sometimes it is necessary to open and drain the focus;
- diffuse forms of mastopathy, as well as the manifestation of gynecomastia in men, can usually be corrected by the appointment of hormonal drugs;
- nodules, cysts, and tumors may be suggested to be surgically removed;
- if the chest hurts due to muscle strain or inflammation, anti-inflammatory tablets and ointments, as well as warming compresses, will help.
You need to know that the severity of the pain symptom in the chest is not always directly proportional to the severity of the disease. Sometimes a mild form of mastopathy leads to severe pain, even from contact with clothing. Conversely, some forms of cancer go away painlessly until the last stages.
Therefore, if painful breasts bother you periodically or constantly for a long enough time, the best solution would be to seek help from a qualified specialist.
Familiar to many women. Such pain is the most famous complaint of women during the menstrual cycle. Painful sensations can be seen in both one mammary gland and two. Sometimes the pain goes away for several months and then comes back again. Why does the chest ache, what are the reasons for this phenomenon?
Types of chest pain
In many cases, pain occurs some time before menstruation. However, there are reasons for which pain in the mammary glands is completely unrelated to the critical days.
Chest pain can be classified into 2 types:
- Cyclic pain sensations that are completely interconnected with the critical days. Usually, aching chest pain can occur in the second half of the cycle, and a few days before menstruation, these sensations can only intensify.
- Non-cyclical is not associated with critical days, but has completely different reasons.
According to statistics, two out of three women suffer from painful sensations that are associated with the processes taking place in a woman's body during menstruation. And only in one it is the result of the influence of other diseases, injuries, etc.
Cyclic pain
This manifestation of pain is most often seen in women between the ages of thirty and fifty. Cyclic pain sensations are not recorded in women who are in the period of menopause, when menstruation stops.
Manifestations of pain in the form of minor discomfort some time before the critical days are considered normal. Only in some cases, the process is accompanied by sharp pain, which lasts about 7-14 days. The most difficult moment is considered the period a few days before the onset of menstruation. At this time, a woman may feel how her breasts ache before menstruation, and sometimes swells. With the onset of menstruation, the woman's condition returns to normal.
The main cause of pain is hormonal changes to which the mammary glands are very sensitive. Cyclic pain sensations have no connection with any disease, therefore they do not require special assistance. In the event of acute pain, it is possible to reduce the manifestations with the help of pain relievers (Ibuprofen, Paracetamol) or ointments with an analgesic effect.
Taking contraceptives containing unnatural hormones can aggravate a woman's condition and increase such pain. Some types of blood pressure lowering drugs have a similar effect.
In cases where conventional drugs do not help relieve pain, the doctor may prescribe special drugs that counteract the release of hormones (Danazol, Tamoxifen). This treatment can lower the level of the hormone estrogen, so it must be constant. Drugs can cause many side effects, and a doctor may prescribe them for acute pain as a last resort.
Non-cyclic types of pain
Pain of this nature can occur constantly or intermittently. Pain sensations of this type have no connection with hormonal changes, and most often occur in women over the age of forty. When a woman's chest aches, the factors causing this condition may be as follows:
- mastopathy;
- inflammatory processes, infections;
- breast cancer;
- possible structural disorders of the chest;
- stretching the muscles of the chest.
Before prescribing treatment, a woman undergoes an examination that helps to identify the exact cause of the pain.
Breasts ache and ache during pregnancy
The main cause of pain in the mammary glands during pregnancy is an increase in the volume of glandular cells, which will perform the functions of milk secretion.
From the first days of pregnancy, a woman's breasts become sensitive, and in some cases painful. The appearance of chest pain and an increase in its size is one of the signs of pregnancy.
All the changes that take place in the mammary glands require activation of the blood circulation process. The chest fills with blood, and the tendency to accumulate fluid in the body during pregnancy causes swelling and pain, respectively.
During pregnancy, chest pain is not uncommon. The mammary gland is usually aching in everyone, but these sensations disappear by the end of the first trimester (10-12 weeks). A significant increase and a tingling sensation in the chest of a woman is felt at the 20th week of pregnancy. This is due to the preparation of the mammary glands for the birth of the baby and the upcoming lactation. The processes occurring do not cause severe pain. In the event of such sensations in one breast, a woman must definitely seek help from her gynecologist to exclude processes not related to pregnancy.
What signs should a woman see a doctor for?
A woman should make an appointment with a doctor if the following manifestations are present:
- the feeling that the chest aches persists after the onset of menstruation;
- painful sensations in the form of burning and squeezing;
- pain is localized in one part of the chest;
- painful sensations do not stop, but intensify over time;
- in the chest, in addition to pain, nodes or its deformation are felt, redness of the mammary glands, the occurrence of increased temperature;
- pain in a woman is observed constantly for two weeks;
- painful sensations interfere with her daily activities, cause insomnia and irritation.
At the doctor
You should consult a doctor in case of persistent pain in the mammary glands. If the doctor does not find any seals, then further examination may not be needed. For women over 40, the specialist usually recommends a mammogram. If during the examination, seals are found, then a biopsy is performed (examination of tissue particles under a microscope).
Treatment will depend entirely on the cause of the pain and the test result. When the chest hurts and aches, such sensations can cause various diseases, one of which is mastopathy.
What it is?
Mastopathy is a disease in which fibrocystic growths form in the chest. According to statistics, about 75-80% of women under the age of 40 have diseases of the mammary glands, united by the common name "mastopathy".
The disease is widespread. In women with mastopathy, the risk of breast cancer increases 3-5 times.
Causes of occurrence
Hormonal disorders in a woman can occur for the following reasons:
- violations in the liver;
- cessation of feeding the infant with sufficient lactation;
- irregular sex;
- ovarian disease;
- thyroid disease;
- stressful situations;
- pathological condition of the pituitary gland.
All these reasons affect the hormonal background of a woman, which leads to the occurrence of mastopathy. There is no genetic predisposition to it.
An imbalance in hormones occurs when estrogen and progesterone levels change.
This imbalance occurs in all women who have given little or no birth at all. Mastopathy does not appear suddenly, for several years in the chest with a violation of physiological processes, foci of epithelial tissue appear and grow. They compress the ducts, interfere with the normal outflow of secretion in them and deform the lobules of the mammary glands.
With mastopathy in women, there is a feeling that the chest is aching, as well as a feeling of expansion and squeezing in the mammary gland. In addition, nausea, lack of appetite and abdominal pain may be present. The disease requires constant monitoring by a doctor and systematic treatment.
Why does my chest ache and how to help yourself?
When the problem occurs constantly before the start of the cycle, then nothing can be done here. You can prepare and purchase underwear, the size of which is designed for an increased breast size. This must be done without fail, because squeezing negatively affects the mammary glands.
If there are suspicions of pregnancy, a woman must definitely contact a gynecologist in order to refute or confirm her assumptions.
Women should constantly examine their breasts to look for lumps or nodules. In case of detection of possible pathologies, it is better to make an appointment with a doctor in order to exclude oncology.
Medicines for such a symptom are not prescribed, so a woman needs to learn to live with it.
All medications should be prescribed by a specialist after examining the woman's breasts and taking into account her condition.
Many women are familiar with extremely unpleasant sensations, pains in the chest before menstruation. During this period, the breast swells significantly, it is impossible to sleep on the stomach, the bra seems uncomfortable and tight. And many women instantly creep into their heads all sorts of bad thoughts: "The chest hurts - what if it's ...?".
However, often the cause of these chest pains is a common condition called mastopathy. Only you should not make a diagnosis yourself and, of course, you do not need to take any medications. Only a mammologist-oncologist can establish the true cause of chest pain and indicate the appropriate treatment after the examination.
Why does my chest hurt?
The most common reason that causes chest pain is a banal hormonal change in the body during menstruation. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the regular changes in hormonal levels in women. But, they can, nevertheless, lead to the development of mastopathy, that is, to benign changes that are associated with the breast tissue. In our time, mastopathy has become a very common disease. According to statistics, about sixty to eighty percent of women suffer from it, and most of them are between the ages of twenty-five and forty-five. The main signs of this disease are lumps in the chest and, accordingly, pain.
The second most common cause of chest pain is mechanical damage to the breast. Pain may appear due to a strong blow, due to strong squeezing of the chest or compression. This can be easily avoided by wearing a supportive, quality bra. It is recommended to pay special attention to this issue, because the breast is a fragile mechanism, and by purchasing comfortable "clothes" for it, you will get rid of many unpleasant cases.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding can be another significant cause of chest pain. Also, chest pains are possible due to insufficiently frequent sex life.
Possible causes (in women)
In general, breast pain or tenderness can be caused by a variety of reasons:
- changes in hormonal levels during menstruation;
- retention of excess fluid in the body, which happens during menstruation;
- mechanical damage to the chest;
- pregnancy;
- breast-feeding;
- various infection;
- dangerous disease breast cancer.
Diseases during which chest pains may occur:
- 1 Dysplasia (benign) of the breast and mastopathy.
- 2 Various inflammatory diseases of the breast, for example, lactational mastitis.
- 3 Disease hypertrophy.
- 4 Some formations in the chest.
- 5 Other diseases.
Most women, having discovered some kind of breast lump in themselves, immediately decide that they necessarily have cancer, and go to the doctor. Of course, a medical examination is, of course, the right and competent decision, just don't panic right away. It is not absolutely necessary that induration and pain indicate the presence of a malignant tumor.
What to do?
Lumps in the chest are painless, and their size can be as small as a pea, or occupy the entire gland. To get an earlier diagnosis of tumor processes, women should learn how to properly examine their mammary glands. It is necessary to conduct an independent examination at least once a month. It is better to do this in front of a mirror. You should pay attention to the size and any changes in the shape of the breast. The condition of the skin, discoloration, the presence of a rash, and the shape of the nipples are examined. Next, you need to feel the chest: you should start with the left gland, it is convenient to do this while lying down. Feeling is carried out clockwise with your fingertips, and not only the chest itself, but also the axillary cavity, as well as the clavicular region. In the event that an increase in lymph nodes, discharge from the nipples, seals was found, it is better to go to the doctor immediately. Early detection of the disease, at the first stage, makes it possible for the doctor to conduct more successful surgical treatment, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The probability of curing a dangerous disease, cancer, at this stage, is much higher than at the third and fourth stages. Regular examinations will help get rid of the disease much faster.