Breast Pain – “Mastalgia”

Breast pain can affect many women at some time in their lives. It is very common indeed and only in very rare cases is it associated with breast cancer. 

Breast pain varies in its intensity ranging from mild to severe and can affect women of any age. It generally presents as 

The two most common Types of Breast Pain are:

Cyclical Pain is the typical breast discomfort which occurs prior to menstruation on a monthly basis and is relieved when the period begins.

Breast pain that does not vary with the menstrual cycle is called non-cyclical. The pain can come and go or may be continuous.

Causes of breast pain not related to the breast include musculoskeletal pain and the exact cause of breast pain is not known, however certain factors that may be involved in mastalgia include:

Mapping the pattern of pain will determine whether the breast pain is related to your cycle and on which days relief from the symptoms may be required.

The diagnosis of mastalgia includes 

Breast pain may be helped by wearing a well-fitting, supportive bra particularly if you are sensitive to movement or your breasts feel heavy.

Simple pain medication such as paracetamol,ibuprofen or anti-inflammatory tablets may help to make musculoskeletal or other non-cyclical breast pain less severe.

Some women with breast pain related to their cycle find that their symptoms improve on a low dose oral contraceptive pill. Other women find that the contraceptive pill makes their symptoms worse.

When breast pain is so severe that it interferes with lifestyle, hormonal medications such as danazol, bromocriptine and tamoxifen are available. However,  these may have significant and severe side effects and their use needs to be strictly monitored. Their use is generally not recommended.