Overview

Breast pain (mastalgia) — a common complaint among women — can include breast tenderness, sharp burning pain or tightness in your breast tissue. The pain may be constant or it may occur only occasionally.

Breast pain can range from mild to severe. It may occur:

• Just a few days a month, in the two to three days leading up to your period. This normal, mild-to-moderate pain affects both breasts.
• A week or longer each month, starting before your period and sometimes continuing through your menstrual cycle. The pain may be moderate or severe, and affects both breasts.
• Throughout the month, not related to your menstrual cycle.

Postmenopausal women sometimes have breast pain, but breast pain is more common in younger women who haven't completed menopause.

Most times, breast pain signals a noncancerous (benign) breast condition and rarely indicates breast cancer. Still, unexplained breast pain that doesn't go away after one or two menstrual cycles or that persists after menopause needs to be evaluated by your doctor.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Symptoms

Most cases of breast pain are classified as either cyclic or noncyclic. Each type of breast pain has distinct characteristics.

Extramammary breast pain

The term "extramammary" means "outside the breast." Extramammary breast pain feels like it starts in the breast tissue, but its source is actually somewhere else. Pulling a muscle in your chest, for example, can cause pain in your chest wall or rib cage that spreads (radiates) to your breast.

When to see a doctor

Make an appointment with your doctor if breast pain:

• Continues daily for more than a couple of weeks
• Occurs in one specific area of your breast
• Seems to be getting worse over time
• Interferes with daily activities

Although breast cancer risk is low in women whose main symptom is breast pain, if your doctor recommends an evaluation, it's important to follow through.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Causes

Sometimes, it's not possible to identify the exact cause of breast pain. Contributing factors may include one or more of the following:

• Reproductive hormones. Cyclic breast pain appears to have a strong link to hormones and your menstrual cycle. Cyclic breast pain often decreases or disappears with pregnancy or menopause.
• Breast structure. Noncyclic breast pain often results from changes that occur in the milk ducts or milk glands. This can result in the development of breast cysts. Breast trauma, prior breast surgery or other factors localized to the breast can lead to breast pain. Breast pain may also start outside the breast — in the chest wall, muscles, joints or heart, for example — and radiate to the breast.
• Fatty acid imbalance. An imbalance of fatty acids within the cells may affect the sensitivity of breast tissue to circulating hormones.
• Medication use. Certain hormonal medications, including some infertility treatments and oral birth control pills, may be associated with breast pain. Also, breast tenderness is a possible side effect of estrogen and progesterone hormone therapies that are used after menopause. Breast pain may be associated with certain antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants.
• Breast size. Women with large breasts may have noncyclic breast pain related to the size of their breasts. Neck, shoulder and back pain may accompany breast pain due to large breasts.
• Breast surgery. Breast pain associated with breast surgery and scar formation can sometimes linger after incisions have healed.

Diagnosis

Tests to evaluate your condition may include:

• Clinical breast exam. Your doctor checks for changes in your breasts, examining your breasts and the lymph nodes in your lower neck and underarm. Your doctor will likely listen to your heart and lungs and check your chest and abdomen to determine whether the pain could be related to another condition. If your medical history and the breast and physical exam reveal nothing unusual, you may not need additional tests.
• Mammogram. If your doctor feels a breast lump or unusual thickening, or detects a focused area of pain in your breast tissue, you'll need an X-ray exam of your breast that evaluates the area of concern found during the breast exam (diagnostic mammogram).
• Ultrasound. An ultrasound exam uses sound waves to produce images of your breasts, and it's often done along with a mammogram. You might need an ultrasound to evaluate a focused area of pain even if the mammogram appears normal.
• Breast biopsy. Suspicious breast lumps, areas of thickening or unusual areas seen during imaging exams may require a biopsy before your doctor can make a diagnosis. During a biopsy, your doctor obtains a small sample of breast tissue from the area in question and sends it for lab analysis.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Alternative medicine

Vitamins and dietary supplements may lessen breast pain symptoms and severity for some women. Ask your doctor if one of these might help you — and ask about doses and any possible side effects:

• Evening primrose oil. This supplement may change the balance of fatty acids in your cells, which may reduce breast pain.

• Vitamin E. Early studies showed a possible beneficial effect of vitamin E on breast pain in premenstrual women who experience breast pain that fluctuates during the menstrual cycle. In one study, 200 IU of vitamin E taken twice daily for two months improved symptoms in women with cyclic breast pain. There was no additional benefit after four months.

  For adults older than 18 years, pregnant women, and breastfeeding women, the maximum dose of vitamin E is 1,000 milligrams daily (or 1,500 IU).

If you try a supplement for breast pain, stop taking it if you don't notice any improvement in your breast pain after a few months. Try just one supplement at a time so that you can clearly determine which one helps alleviate the pain — or not.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Lifestyle and home remedies

Even though there is little research to show the effectiveness of these self-care remedies, some may be worth a try:

• Use hot or cold compresses on your breasts.
• Wear a firm support bra, fitted by a professional if possible.
• Wear a sports bra during exercise, especially when your breasts may be more sensitive.
• Experiment with relaxation therapy, which can help control the high levels of anxiety associated with severe breast pain.
• Limit or eliminate caffeine, a dietary change some women find helpful, although medical studies of caffeine's effect on breast pain and other premenstrual symptoms have been inconclusive.
• Follow a low-fat diet and eat more complex carbohydrates, a strategy that's helped some women with breast pain in observational studies.
• Consider using an over-the-counter pain reliever, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) — but ask your doctor how much to take, as long-term use may increase your risk of liver problems and other side effects.
• Keep a journal, noting when you experience breast pain and other symptoms, to determine if your pain is cyclic or noncyclic.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com