BREAST TENDERNESS causes and solutions

BREAST TENDERNESS causes

Pregnancy
It is common for women to experience intense breast tenderness and swelling during pregnancy – it is a result of on-going dramatic hormonal changes during pregnancy as well as of fat building in breasts and increased blood flow to breasts. Breast tenderness very specific for early pregnancy and could be considered as pregnancy symptom.

Breastfeeding women also can experience breast tenderness - anything from discomfort to extreme pain. This pain is generally associated with the early stages of breast feeding and is usually correlated with the baby learning how to latch or with milk duct infection, known as mastitis.    

Infection
Breast infection called “mastitis” often caused by clogged sebaceous glands or breast-feeding and always results in breast tenderness and swollen breasts. Mastitis is an infection of the breast tissues that causes the breast to swell and become sore. While breast tenderness and swelling may be the first signs of breast infection, a fever is likely to develop shortly.

Hormones
Hormones are the most common cause of breast tenderness and swelling. In most cases breast tenderness is correlating with female hormones changes. Very often breast tenderness has a cyclic character. During the menstrual cycle breast tenderness can be changed - the breast is smallest on days 2-5, and then begins to enlarge, under the influence of estrogen and later progesterone and prolactin. Maximum breast tenderness is noted just before period.

At different periods of life females can have breast tenderness – during puberty, during premenstrual periods, during first trimester of pregnancy and during menopause. Girls who are nearing puberty, menopausal women and pregnant women can all expect some breast tenderness and swelling at odd times throughout the month.

At puberty, the female breast develops, under the influence of estrogen, progesterone, growth hormone, prolactin, insulin and probably thyroid hormone, parathyroid hormone and cortisol. This complex process typically begins between ages 8 to 14 and spans about 4 years.

Many women suffer from sore breasts when suffering from pre-menstrual syndrome, often starting a full week before the period begins. Some women find relief once their period starts, other women continue to suffer pain throughout their menstrual cycle.

Use hormonal treatments or hormonal contraception also can be a cause for breast tenderness. Hormonal medications like estrogen treatments or birth control pills will have the same unpredictable breast tenderness.

Menopause
During menopause, the body experiences an unbalanced level of estrogen hormones that cause breast tenderness during menopause.
During perimenopause  and during early stages of menopause often women mention breast tenderness including pain, heaviness and sensitivity to touch. These changes are caused by hormonal fluctuation. Breast tenderness and pain can create fear for breast cancer. Luckily, breast tenderness is rarely a symptom of breast cancer but in order to get reassurance you can go to your doctor for a mammogram. Lumps can develop in the milk glands and cause the condition fibrocystic breast disease.

 Hormonal contraception or hormonal treatment
Breast tenderness is a common side effect of birth control pills. Some doctors could subscribe birth control pills for breast tenderness (depending on women hormones). If you are using birth control pills and have breast tenderness, better discuss it with your doctor and try to change the type of your pills.

Sometimes women need hormonal therapy including therapy with estrogens. Estrogen therapy is common for women going through menopause. It also can provoke breast tenderness.

Cysts
Breast cysts can also develop breast tenderness. These liquid-filled sacks go unnoticed. However, tenderness and swelling may occur, particularly when multiple cysts appear. While most cysts are benign, it is still important to have the potential cyst examined for possible malignancy or fibrocystic condition. To determine whether or not you may have a breast cyst, consider the fact that discomfort experienced with cysts is noncyclical, meaning that it is unrelated to your menstrual cycle.

Tumors
In general breast tumors are painless but they can develop breast tenderness and discomfort - the larger breast tumors get, the more likely women can experience breast swelling and tenderness. These fibroadenomas, as they are called, are typically found in premenopausal women under the age of 50 and can be treated and tested with a simple biopsy.

Cancer
There is only one type of breast cancer that causes breast pain – it is so called “inflammatory breast cancer” which is pretty rare (1-2.5% of all breast cancer cases). Therefore, breast pain is an unlikely symptom of breast cancer. However, an advanced breast cancer with large tumors may push the breast tissue enough to cause breast tenderness and swelling. If this is a concern, it is important to visit your doctor immediately. 

BREAST TENDERNESS solutions

There are a few things you can do to relive the breast tenderness, breast swelling and breasts’ discomfort.

Wear the right bra with good support.
The most effective way to control monthly breast tenderness is to wear a comfortable bra that provides good support – correct size plus comfortable style. Doctors usually recommend that women wear a support bra rather than an underwire bra when their breasts are most tender. You may even want to wear the bra while you sleep. The bra should cup the breasts firmly, without binding or biting.

Make sure to wear correct bra size with good bra support. Not wearing a bra can make breast tenderness worse, regardless of breast size. This is especially important during exercise. Bra support could help to make breasts feel contained, helping to minimize soreness.

Try some cold comfort.
You can take the same approach for tender breasts that you would for a sore back or a pulled shoulder muscle. Fill a plastic bag with ice cubes and wrap a towel around it. Then apply it to your tender areas for ten to fifteen minutes at a time. (You can also use commercial cold packs or the re-freezable packs that come with coolers). This will slow the flow of fluids to the breasts, which will help reduce the swelling.

Add more fiber to your diet.
Research has shown that eating foods high in dietary fiber, like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, can help lower the amount of estrogen circulating in the bloodstream. For many women, this can help control monthly breast tenderness.

Reduce salt use.
Too much salt and sodium are known as breast tenderness provokers.
When you get a lot of salt in your diet the body begins retaining fluids, causing breast tenderness and swelling. Eating less salt just during premenstrual period can reduce breast tenderness and swelling. Try to eliminate high salt and sodium foods from your diet at least a week before your cycle begins.

Be active and do regular exercises.
Try to be active as much as possible. Physical exercises are strongly recommended - sometimes just getting outside and moving around can help to relieve breast tenderness. Regular physical exercises can reduce the amount of fluids in the body which can be very helpful for easing breast tenderness. Making exercise a regular part of your daily regimen, can help to relieve many symptoms of PMS including breast tenderness.
Even regular 30-60 minutes physical activities (walking, biking, swimming, etc.) can dramatically reduce breast tenderness, especially if exercises were done in the week before expected period.

Trim fat from your diet.
A diet that’s high in fat isn’t only bad for your heart – it can also increase breast tenderness. Eating big quantity of fat can interfere with the production of chemicals in the body that are responsible for reducing breast tenderness. In addition, dietary fat has a way of turning into body fat, and fatty tissue has been shown to interfere with the body’s ability to regulate estrange. It is recommended to get no more than 20-25% of your total daily calories from fat. The best way to reduce fat in your diet is to cut back on the worst offenders – high-fat foods such as mayonnaise, red meats, margarine, butter, ice cream, and cheeses.

Reduce coffee.
If coffee is your favorite eye-opener it may not be doing your breasts any good. There’s little scientific evidence that drinking coffee increases monthly breast tenderness and pain, but many women have found that when they cut back on caffeine, the pain gets better. Many women complain that caffeine can make breast tenderness worse. In fact, caffeine generally contributes to breast lumpiness at any time of the month. It is especially recommended to avoid caffeine all month round if you have lumpy breasts, and for the week leading up to your period if you only have breast pain.

Move excess fluid from the body.
It is important to drink lots of water to help remove the excess fluid from your body. And it is also helpful to use natural diuretic to help the body flush excess water out.

Use herbal tea.
As a substitute for coffee, you may want to try some uva ursi tea. Available in health food stores, this tea is a mild diuretic that can help ease breast pain by removing excess fluids from the body. In general any tea with diuretic effect can be useful for breast tenderness.

Reduce sugar use.
It is not confirmed scientifically, but for some women sugar contributes to breast tenderness during premenstrual period.

If you are pregnant, follow recommendations:

• Make sure your partner is aware of the situation and proceeds with caution during lovemaking — and even hugging. Let him know what's okay to touch, and how.
• Invest in a good bra now to prevent stretching and sagging later on.
• Wear a cotton sports bra to bed if your breasts are uncomfortable while sleeping.