Mastalgia is a medical term used to describe the pain of breasts that can affect almost 70% of women. Breast pain or mastalgia is characterized by pain and swelling of breasts (increase in their volume due to infection, trauma, etc.). It is normal for women to feel a light pain in the breasts with 2-3 days before the menstrual cycle. In some women the pain may persist for up to 5 days. But pain is not always associated with menstruation, since it can affect one breast or both breasts or only part of a breast, being also capable to extend to the arm.
Breast pain can be so intense that it is hard to bear even the bra and shirt and sometimes can be triggered only by contact with bedding. It can have a major impact on quality of life and daily activities such as work, family relationships or sex life. There are three main types of breast pain. First of all, cyclical breast pain is the type of pain that intensifies as it approaches the first day of cycle and its intensity can vary from month to month. In addition to this, acyclic breast pain is the pain with a variable intensity. It can always be present or may come and go without having a clear frequency. Finally, chest pain is not about breast pain as such, but is a pain that affects muscles and tissues of the breasts.
Cyclic breast pain affects a rate of 40% of women before menopause, most often at the age of 30 years. In about 8% of cases the pain is intense and affects normal activities. This pain can be felt over several years, however, in most cases disappears after menopause. 20% of women the pain resolves. There are very rare cases when the pain is caused by breast cancer. Consult your doctor if you have any questions regarding this option. You should also know that caffeine does not cause breast pain. Yet some women say they feel much less pain if you reduce or eliminate consumption of coffee, even though no study has yet proven this theory. Caffeine is found in coffee, black tea and green tea, cola, chocolate, cocoa and some medications for pain.
One study demonstrated that reducing fat intake reduces cyclic breast pain in some women. Still there is not a concrete scientific proof until now. Furthermore, birth control pill can cause breast pain, may exacerbate or alleviate. Some women feel this pain when you first start to take birth control pills or when they change. Breast pain or mastalgia may gradually disappear, if not this happens may be prescribed the lowest dose pill or another. Starting a hormone therapy can sometimes substitute or cause breast pain that disappears with time, even though in some women it may persist. If you feel that pain is related to hormone therapy it is better to consult a doctor. Sometimes changing the dosage or modality of administration may help, but it is also possible to discontinue it.