causes of breast pain when pressed

“Breast pain can be caused by various conditions. Ranging from natural things like menstruation and pregnancy, to serious medical conditions, like breast cancer.”

Thedoctormedical , united states – Some women often complain that their breasts feel sore just before menstruation or menstruation. In the medical world, breast pain is called mastalgia.

The thing that needs to be underlined, breast pain or mastalgia is not only related to the menstrual cycle. Because, there are several other conditions that can trigger breast pain. Curious? Here are 10 conditions that can cause breast pain.

What Causes Breast Pain?

Breast pain can occur due to various things, ranging from natural things that you don't need to worry about to serious medical conditions.

1. Hormone fluctuations

Hormone fluctuations are the number one reason women experience breast pain. Usually, the breasts feel sore 3-5 days before the start of the menstrual period and the pain may go away after the period has passed.

This happens because the hormones estrogen and progesterone increase right before menstruation. These hormones cause your breasts to swell and can cause tenderness. However, this condition is normal and you don't need to worry

If you are pregnant, you may also experience breast tenderness or mastalgia during the first trimester due to increased hormone production. In fact, breast tenderness and tenderness is one of the early signs of pregnancy for many women.

In addition to menstruation and pregnancy, the hormonal fluctuations that occur during menopause and puberty (in both boys and girls) can cause breast pain.

2. Fibrocystic breast changes

Fibrocystic breast changes are not dangerous but have the potential to cause a number of uncomfortable symptoms that cause the breasts to feel lumpy or have a different texture due to hormonal fluctuations. This is the most common type of non-cancerous breast condition.

Symptoms may include:

Breasts that feel firmer or thicker than usual.
Softness.
Lumps or cysts.
Sensitive nipples.
Itching.
These symptoms may be worse before menstruation, and will usually stop after menopause.

3. Bust size

Women with large breasts or breasts that are disproportionate to their body may experience breast discomfort or pain. In fact, this pain can be felt in the neck, shoulders and back.

4. Mastitis

Another cause of breast pain is mastitis or inflammation of the breast. Usually this condition is experienced by breastfeeding women.

Mastitis will cause breast pain and swelling due to inflammation. In some cases, this can also be accompanied by an infection.

Do not take this complaint lightly, because mastitis can also cause abscesses in the breast tissue. However, nursing mothers can do this to avoid mastitis .

5. Muscle irritation

Sometimes mastalgia isn't the result of a problem with the breast, but due to irritation or injury to the chest, arm or back muscles. Injuries to these parts can occur while rowing, shoveling, and water skiing, or some other activity.

6. Drugs

In some cases, certain drugs can also cause side effects such as breast pain. Some drugs with these side effects include:

Oxymethone, usually effective for treating some forms of anemia.
Chlorpromazine, effective for treating various mental health conditions.
Water pills (diuretics), drugs that increase urination and are used by doctors to treat kidney and heart disease and high blood pressure.
Hormone therapy ( birth control pills , hormone replacement or infertility treatment).
Digitalis, usually prescribed by doctors for heart failure.
Methyldopa, doctors can use to treat high blood pressure.
Talk to your doctor about the drugs you are taking and if you suspect breast pain is caused by these drugs.

7. Fibroadenoma

Try to pay attention to whether the breasts that feel painful also have lumps. Breast pain that appears with a lump can be caused by many things. One of them is fibroadenoma or fibroadenoma mammae (FAM), the most common type of benign tumor that occurs in the breast area.

The shape of the FAM is round with well-defined borders and has a chewy consistency with a smooth surface. In addition, the size of this lump can increase during pregnancy.

Even so, this medical condition is different from breast cancer tumors. The difference is that FAM does not spread to other organs over time, unlike breast cancer. In short, these lumps just stay in the breast tissue.

8. Breast cysts

Apart from fibroadenomas, breast lumps can also occur as a result of breast cysts. Most breast cysts are round or oval in shape. When you touch it, it feels springy like a balloon filled with liquid. Fortunately, these mass growths in the breast are generally benign, because they do not contain cancer cells.

Even so, in some cases, breast cysts can also cause breast pain. However, this depends on the size of the cyst there.

9. Breast cancer

Be careful, mastalgia that appears along with a lump can also be a symptom of breast cancer. Actually, not all breast lumps are cancerous. However, you should remain vigilant until it is actually declared not cancer.

Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that develops in breast cells. The worrying thing is that these abnormal cells can spread to other parts of the body at a more severe stage.

10. Breast surgery

Both breast surgery and radiation therapy to treat breast cancer can cause scar tissue to form. This can cause breast pain or numbness if scar tissue develops around the nerves