Breast Pain & Hormonal Changes

There are many reasons why our breasts can become painful at times. Breast pain is actually very common, affecting around two-thirds of women in their lifetime.

Pain in the breasts may be related to the breast tissue or may be referred pain from muscles, ribs or within the chest wall. The pain can range from a slight feeling of discomfort or tenderness to a sharp or burning sensation.

Many naturally worry when they experience breast pain, but it is rarely a cause for alarm. However, it is good to be sure and check in with your GP if the pain does not improve within a few weeks.

Did you know that hormonal changes in our body are often the most common cause of breast discomfort or pain? Sometimes hormonal treatments such as the contraceptive pill/injection, or HRT may cause breast pain. Some medications may also be responsible for breast pain. Menstruation, pregnancy and menopause are the top contributing factors so, let’s talk about these three important hormonal changes in our bodies.

Menstruation breast pain

With a monthly period, your breasts may become sore up to 2 weeks before, then the soreness goes away when your period finishes. This may be referred to as ‘cyclical breast pain’ and is related to the monthly rise and fall in oestrogen and progesterone hormone levels.

These hormones cause your breasts to swell and feel heavier which can lead to breast tenderness, sometimes the discomfort spreads to the armpits. Make sure you wear a firm supportive bra at this time to make sure your breasts receive adequate support and to help reduce the discomfort. Some women even find that at this time of the month they require a different sized bra due to the breast swelling.

It’s perfectly normal to have breast tenderness that comes and goes around the time of the month and is rarely ever a symptom of breast cancer.

Pregnancy breast pain

Breast pain in pregnancy often occurs at the early stages of pregnancy because your body is flooded with hormones. These hormones are important as they prepare your body to grow a little human.

Your hormones will therefore work quickly to prepare your breasts for feeding your new arrival. The Blood flow to this area increases which then makes your boobs grow larger - this growth may be painful, even causing skin irritation and itching. A well-fitting bra is important as your breasts grow during pregnancy, you may need to change cup sizes more than once to accommodate the change.

The milk ducts in your breasts also grow to prepare for breastfeeding and hormones stimulate the growth of milk-producing glands. This is all part of a natural process however, if you are feeling that your breasts are more painful than expected please contact your midwife or GP for advice.

Perimenopause and menopausal breast pain

Perimenopause (when you have menopause symptoms, but your periods have not stopped) breast pain can be worse due to your hormones behaving erratically and may feel like a burning or soreness in one or both breasts.  This pain is also likely to be noncyclical and not related to your period cycle due to the erratic nature of hormone levels.

Not all women experience breast discomfort in the same way, it can be a sharp, stabbing, or throbbing feeling in your breast/s.

Menopause breast pain is linked to decreasing hormone levels in a woman’s body, usually happening between the ages of 45 – 55 years old.  However, as the amount of oestrogen reduces then eventually breast discomfort should improve and be less painful.

Whilst you have the pleasure of going through ‘’The Menopause’’ your breasts may change in shape or size too. This is due to changing tissue composition. Once the milk-producing gland system is no longer needed it shrinks and decreases in size as well as in density. This can cause the breasts to become less firm, lose their shape and to sag – another potential cause for soreness and checking that your bra is a good fit to provide support.

All in all, this natural process all women go through isn’t much fun, in fact, it’s absolutely rubbish however there is nothing any of us can do about it other than ride out the menopause storm.  More and more women are open and honest about their peri and menopause experiences so if you are new to this, talk to your friends or family members of a similar age and see if they experienced similar breast discomfort. If you believe you are experiencing something more than the normal breast pain it is important that you talk to your GP.

In addition to hormone-related breast pain there are other possibilities to explore which are as the following;

Your bra doesn’t provide the right support

We have spoken about this before and we will say it again. Without proper support, the ligaments that connect breasts to the chest wall can become overstretched and painful by the end of the day. This in turn results in achy, sore boobs. This may be especially noticeable during exercise therefore please make sure your bra is the correct size and provides good support.

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding can sometimes cause breast pain. This may include painful nipples from the way a baby latches on to suck, a tingling sensation when the milk starts to flow to the baby or nipple soreness due to being bitten or having dry, cracked skin or an infection.

If you have pain while breastfeeding, it’s best to talk to your GP/health visitor as they can help you troubleshoot the problem while maintaining your milk supply. 

Please also note that breastfeeding women can develop a breast infection which is called mastitis. Symptoms include pain, redness & swelling. If this occurs please give your GP practice a call as soon as possible, they can provide you with a course of antibiotics to prevent the infection from progressing.

You may have a breast cyst

If a have noticed a tender lump suddenly appears in your breast, you may have a cyst – A breast cyst is a fluid-filled lump which isn’t dangerous and often resolves on its own, however, we don’t need to tell you that ALL breast lumps need to be seen by a doctor, so talk to your GP, they may refer you to your local breast care centre, In our case The Primrose Breast care centre.

Breast implants

Some women have complications with breast implants, whether made of silicone or saline. A common complication is breast pain. The pain may be due to surgical changes to the breast, capsular contracture when scar tissue forms too tightly around the implant/s, or an indication that one of your implants has ruptured. However, the pain may simply be due to other reasons as already discussed and not the implants.

If this is you, talk to your cosmetic surgeon provider, or to your doctor for further advice and guidance.