Breast Pain

See all Pictures & Images

Breast Pain: Common Causes

Some degree of breast tenderness is normal, caused by hormonal fluctuations from:

• Menstruation
• Pregnancy -- tends to be more common during the first trimester and pregnancy at a young age
• Puberty -- in both girls and boys
• Breast feeding
• Approach of menopause (often, once you are post-menopausal -- meaning that your menstrual periods have stopped completely -- breast tenderness goes away unless you are taking hormone replacement therapy)

Soon after childbirth, your breasts may become engorged with milk. This can be very painful and is usually accompanied by swelling and, possibly, generalized redness. If the redness is localized, it may indicate an infection called mastitis.

Other common causes of breast pain include:

• Fibrocystic breast changes
• Mastitits -- breast infection due to a blocked milk duct, usually associated with breast feeding
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
• Alcoholism with liver damage (including in men because liver disease can cause gynecomastia)
• Injury (such as a bite or trauma)

Fibrocystic breast tissue is a very common condition. It involves breast lumps and bumps throughout the breast tissue that tend to be more tender just before your menstrual period.