What causes female breasts to hurt before menstruation. Can breasts hurt before menstruation

Many women of the reproductive period before critical days experience pain in the chest and nipples.

Menstrual cycles, as well as - pregnancy, menstruation, childbirth, breastfeeding - affect changes in the tissues of the mammary gland. Estrogen, progesterone, prolactin are regulators of changes in them, and this affects the sensations of a woman in her breasts at various points in her life.

Against the background of hormonal changes in the second phase of the monthly cycle, namely, after ovulation, this is a completely natural reaction of the body, which fully meets the laws of physiology. During this period, the epithelium in the mammary glands - in their ducts and lobules - grows (profiling). Blood rushes to them, they increase and swell, become denser, more sensitive. Hence the pain.

Pain in the chest on the eve of menstruation is explained by the fact that the mammary glands are being rebuilt, preparing for a possible feeding, which means pregnancy. If it does not occur, then the resulting glandular tissue - polyferation - atrophies and dies.

About a week before the onset of menstruation, chest pain appears. Such a symptom in medicine is called mastodynia, which is not a pathology. But what does this pain mean?

If it does not cause you much discomfort and there are no other signs of PMS, then you have a well-balanced hormonal background, and everything is in order with your health.
If other problems related to the reproductive system do not bother you, then you just need to stop worrying about this.

Now it becomes clear why the chest hurts before menstruation.

When chest pains disappear

For example, you have noticed that this habitual symptom has almost disappeared. Why?

Most often, this is due to the fact that your sex life has become regular and active.
The most common symptoms that a woman is pregnant are extremely sensitive nipples and palpable sore breasts. But many women also note the opposite symptoms - the absence of already familiar pain in the mammary glands in the second half of the cycle of the month when the pregnancy became known. This is due to changes in hormonal balance that manifest themselves individually.
Taking medication can also affect the course of the cycle and the signs of an approaching period. These are oral contraceptives, hormonal drugs, some drugs that are not related to reproduction, but indirectly affect the level of hormones in the blood.
The chest ceases to be painful before menstruation even after the cure for the disease - for example, mastopathy, the causes of which can be severe stress and even malfunctions in the digestive tract.

Reasons for concern

Quite tolerable chest pain or its complete absence before menstruation is the norm.

If you notice dramatic changes during the monthly cycle, then you should worry.
If you always knew that menstruation was approaching because of chest pain, then it is normal for you.
But if for several months your cycle is unusual, and chest pain is not felt, you need to be wary: this indicates a change in hormonal levels, in particular, a decrease in progesterone levels. This is especially true for those who are planning pregnancy, because it will become a problem with low progesterone. You should consult a doctor who will refer you to tests that should reveal the level of female hormones and various anomalies.
In addition to progesterone, other hormones and their indicators at certain time intervals of the cycle also affect pain in the mammary glands.

The physical condition of a woman from the onset of puberty to menopause is subject to the menstrual cycle. During these periods, many of the fair sex complain of chest pain, but each feels it differently: some hardly notice, others claim that this significantly worsens their well-being. This phenomenon is caused by the peculiarities of the structure of the female body and the processes occurring in it. 6 out of 10 women of reproductive age experience pain.

Symptoms

Each organism is unique in its own way, and the sensations in the chest also differ depending on the individual characteristics of the body of each woman. The norm is aching pain on both sides, which is aggravated by touch. Some girls suffer from this for 2-3 days, others experience regular and prolonged symptoms.

Experts call this phenomenon cyclic mastodynia and do not consider it a pathology, especially if a girl encounters it regularly. It starts about 10-12 days before the arrival of menstruation. The body understands that pregnancy has not occurred.

Why do breasts hurt before menstruation? The consequences of the influence of the menstrual cycle on the body of a woman include a condition in which the chest is very sore before menstruation. In the absence of pathologies of the mammary glands in women, immediately before ovulation, there is a slight increase in the sensitivity of the breast. This change is accompanied by a rush of blood to the mammary glands, certain structural changes and an increase in tissue density, which can cause pain.

In addition, a change in the density of tissues and their blood filling can cause discomfort in the form of light pulling and aching pains, soreness due to increased external sensitivity, compaction and swelling of the mammary glands.

Causes of chest pain before menstruation

The main reason why the chest hurts before menstruation is the hormonal changes in the body, associated with the preparation of the latter for a possible pregnancy and childbirth with further lactation. The volume of the breast increases due to the rather rapid growth of specific tissues of the mammary glands. Such an increase or swelling of the breast is especially noticeable at the very beginning of pregnancy. In the absence of pregnancy, atrophy of the newly formed glandular tissue occurs, which causes the complete disappearance of all painful manifestations after the completion of menstruation.

Thus, cyclic polypheresis - the growth and atrophy of new mammary gland tissues during menstruation - is a normal physiological phenomenon for any woman of reproductive age. Usually, manifestations of cyclic polypheresis in healthy women do not cause severe, acute or prolonged chest pain and are tolerated quite easily, causing only slight discomfort.

A slight soreness in the area of the mammary glands may appear 5 to 7 days before the onset of menstruation, and it is usually referred to as physiological phenomena that are part of the norm. The symptom of pain in the mammary glands a week before menstruation is called mastodynia and also does not belong to the category of pathologies.

In cases where the sensitivity of the mammary glands is low enough, compaction, growth and atrophy of tissues in them, or a rush of blood to the chest, may not cause any negative sensations in a woman at all. In this case, pain does not occur and mastodynia does not develop.

Severe chest pain before menstruation as a result of various pathologies

The swelling and growth of the mammary glands at the beginning of the menstrual cycle is mainly of a hormonal nature. Deviations in hormonal balance, in turn, can cause structural disturbances in the composition of tissues during cyclic polyphery. This is expressed in the fact that the normal ratio of glandular, fatty and fibrous tissues in the mammary gland can be disturbed, leading to various diseases and pathologies.

An excess of female hormones, in particular progesterone, can lead to a predominant growth of the glandular tissues of the mammary glands, causing coarsening and hardening of the breast. In this case, increased blood supply to the mammary gland before menstruation can cause excessive stress in hardened tissues that have lost elasticity, and, as a result, severe and prolonged pain.

Similar phenomena with the occurrence of severe pain in the chest before menstruation can occur with a functional violation of the ovaries, as well as with some gynecological diseases. In some cases, chest pain may radiate to the shoulder girdle, under the shoulder blade or in the armpit. The moments of onset of painful attacks in the area of the mammary glands can vary greatly, the pain can be permanent and does not depend on the phase of the menstrual cycle.

More about mastopathy

The next answer to the question of why the chest hurts before menstruation is mastopathy. This disease develops due to a deficiency of progesterone, an excess of estrogen (hyperestrogenism) and an increase in prolactin levels.

Mastopathy is characterized by the growth of connective tissues in the mammary glands and the formation of seals of various sizes on the basis of this.

Different forms of mastopathy: diffuse, nodular or mixed - can subsequently cause the development of a malignant tumor of the breast, i.e. cancer. A woman's attentive attitude to her health, constant self-examination of the mammary glands, regular medical examinations by a gynecologist and mammologist will help to avoid this. This is especially important for middle-aged women.

This is due to the fact that at a young age, the onset of mastopathy is asymptomatic, without causing any concern to the woman. And after reaching 40 - 45 years of age, the disease begins to progress. Therefore, it is extremely important to detect the symptoms of a beginning illness in time. In the early stages, the disease is cured much faster, without requiring for the most part surgical intervention.

Mastopathy must be treated by conservative, surgical or other methods, depending on the form of the disease, the size of the seals that have appeared, the general health, age, hormonal status of the patient and many other indicators. In no case should you self-medicate! This can be extremely dangerous for the health of the entire female body.

To successfully get rid of mastopathy, not only a well-defined course of treatment is important, but also careful adherence to the correct diet and lifestyle. It is categorically necessary to give up nicotine and alcohol, exercise regularly, devote enough time to sleep, rest and walks in the fresh air, lead a calm lifestyle that excludes irritation and stress.

Treatment of pain in the mammary glands

If you experience severe chest pain, you should contact a gynecologist, and upon receipt of the appropriate referral - to a mammologist or endocrinologist.

During the examination, it is important to pay special attention to the hormonal balance, the absence of malignant tumors in the chest and genital organs, the general condition of the pelvic organs, and the ovaries.

In the absence of pathologies, hormonal abnormalities or tumor diseases, the treatment and prevention of mastodynia will consist in maintaining the hormonal, water and salt balance in the body and in normalizing physical activity. If possible, animal fats, spicy-salted and smoked foods are excluded from the diet, fluid intake is limited.

2 weeks before menstruation, it is necessary to exclude coffee and strong tea from the diet. In addition, you should avoid wearing rough, tight and tightly fitting clothes, lifting weights, and you should not make sudden movements.

As a drug therapy for mastodynia, weak painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, hormonal contraceptives, and drugs that reduce the production of the female hormone prolactin are used.

To reduce the painful effects related to the mechanism of cyclic polyphery - a structural change in breast tissue associated with the menstrual cycle, herbal preparations and infusions are considered quite effective. For their preparation, St.

Vegetable estrogens are used as a means of regulating the hormonal balance in a woman's body, other herbs, depending on the composition of the collection, can have a calming, analgesic and puffiness-relieving effect.

Throughout a woman's life cycle, her breasts undergo a series of dramatic changes. This applies to adolescence, when its enhanced growth occurs. The next stage is pregnancy and breastfeeding. The third period is the monthly menstrual cycle, namely its specific intervals before the onset of menstruation, causing swelling of the mammary glands and pain when touched. This is quite a common phenomenon, which is considered the norm.

About 95% of women experience these discomforts. Many simply do not pay attention to them, so the pain of this nature becomes familiar to them. Some, on the contrary, suffer from them and do not know how to reduce the pain that gives them some discomfort. But sometimes it can signal pathological processes occurring in it. This article will help you understand why the chest hurts before menstruation, in which cases it is worth panicking, and in which there is no cause for concern.

Causes of chest pain before menstruation

Pain in the mammary glands before menstruation occurs for a number of reasons. Among them are the following:

Do not worry if on the eve of menstruation a pulling pain appeared in the chest, and the chest itself suddenly increased in size. It's all about the hormone progesterone. By increasing it in blood concentration, these unpleasant sensations arise;
Feeling the chest, you can find small lumps under the skin. The reason for their occurrence is a violation of the hormonal background. Swelling of tissues is caused by an increased content of estrogens in the blood. This can lead to mastopathy. The chest becomes painful. Any touch to it causes new pain sensations. Even wearing a bra becomes impossible;
Pregnancy can also cause chest pain. Many do not even know about their situation, perceiving pain as a common occurrence before menstruation;
The worst thing is when the cause of pain before menstruation is oncology. Cancer can thus give a bell about problems in the body. The main thing is not to miss and not to start the onset of the disease, but to visit a doctor. Then act according to the circumstances;
Reception can also cause swelling and pain in the chest. The hormones contained in drugs can affect not only ovulation, but also the mammary gland. If taking these drugs causes discomfort, then you should replace them with any other that is more suitable for you;
The hormonal balance is lost in the presence of infectious diseases of the urogenital area;
Termination of pregnancy, irregular sex life;
Frequent stress and overexertion;
Excess weight coupled with a sedentary lifestyle;
Abuse of coffee drinks.

How many days before menstruation does the chest start to hurt

There can be no definite answer to this question. Every woman is different. One may not have breast pain at all before the onset of menstruation, and she has no idea that this is possible. In another lady, a week or even earlier, the first signals of the upcoming menstruation may appear in the form of painful sensations when touching the mammary glands.

You can go the other way and try to make an independent calculation of the menstrual cycle. It will help you understand how many days your chest can start to hurt. Usually a normal cycle is 28 days. Plus or minus 2-3 days. The maturation of the egg occurs in the middle of the cycle. When divided in half, it turns out 14 days from the beginning of menstruation.

After ovulation, the body automatically begins to intensively prepare for the intended pregnancy. At this moment, there is an increase in the sensitivity of the mammary glands. This is temporary and should not cause any concern. With the advent of menstruation, everything will pass. The swelling of the glands will decrease and cease to cause discomfort.

What to do if the chest hurts before menstruation

Usually such pain, which is cyclic in nature, is quite tolerable and does not require any special treatment. Each of us can endure two days. If, against the background of pain, nervousness, sleep problems, and increased irritability additionally appear, then sedatives can be taken. In any pharmacy they will offer a wide selection of such herbal preparations. They will help to improve the emotional state and calm the excited nervous system.

If the pain is severe and prevents a woman from leading a fulfilling life, you can seek advice from your doctor. In such cases, treatment may be required. Most often prescribed:

Light painkillers;
Anti-inflammatory drugs (non-steroidal);
Mastodinon.

It should be borne in mind that taking any hormonal drugs is fraught with side effects. Before you start taking it, you should carefully study the instructions to make sure this drug is right for you or not.

These days it is worth sticking to a diet and a healthy lifestyle. Try to avoid hypothermia. This will help normalize hormonal levels. If possible, walk in the fresh air more often, get enough sleep, be less upset and worried. Introduce fruits and vegetables into your diet. Exclude alcoholic drinks. Less salty and spicy.

If wearing a bra causes pain, you can try to do without it or replace it with other underwear these days. For example, a pitted top. It is made of natural fabrics, soft to the touch. When wearing this type of underwear, the pain will definitely decrease.

Reasons to see a doctor

A cause for concern and an appeal to a doctor may be chest pain caused by a cardinal change in the cycle, that is, its course. If a woman has never complained about chest pains before, or they were minor, but now they suddenly intensified and began to cause problems, you should be wary. Or another option, when the pain disappeared completely and for several cycles does not manifest itself in any way, this is also abnormal. The second case may indicate a decrease in the hormone progesterone. If the level of this hormone falls, then the woman's probability of conception and pregnancy is reduced to zero.

To make sure which condition is normal for you and which will be considered a pathology, you need to visit a gynecologist twice a year. Wouldn't hurt to get a mammogram. It is recommended to do it only once a year.

You can do a breast exam at home. To do this, you need to be bare to the waist. Stand exactly in front of the mirror and look closely at yourself. The fact that one breast can visually differ in size from the other should not scare you. This often happens. Next, pay attention to the presence of roughness around the nipple, redness, thickening. The nipple should stick out. If he gets sucked in, it's not normal. Next, raise your left hand above you and feel the left chest with spiral movements. It is necessary to move from the base, heading towards the nipple, passing millimeter by millimeter. Do not forget to feel the armpits for seals. Enlarged, painful lymph nodes should alert. Thus examine both breasts. You can diagnose in another way. To do this, we lie down on the floor, placing a small pillow under the left shoulder blade. Throw the left hand behind the head. In this position, the chest becomes flat, which allows you to see it well and feel for seals. Repeat manipulations with the right breast.

If, during a self-examination, you accidentally stumble upon seals in the form of small nodules or feel pain when squeezing the nipple and see a discharge that is purulent in nature, then you should immediately run to the gynecologist and the sooner the better.

The doctor will help you understand the causes of chest pain and prescribe an additional examination. It could be:

Donating blood for tumor markers, to exclude the likelihood of breast cancer. Recently, cases of breast cancer have become more frequent and most often patients turn when there is only one method of treatment - surgical;
X-ray of the pelvic organs. This analysis is done not before menstruation, but after;
Mammography. This type of analysis is carried out in the second phase of the menstrual cycle. During this examination, you can see the slightest changes in the mammary glands.
Donating blood for hormones. It is not released as planned. The doctor gives a referral only if he has a suspicion of the presence of a pathology. This analysis will help determine the level of hormones, whether it is elevated or low, or normal.

Why did the chest stop hurting before menstruation

If the chest has ceased to disturb and cause pain before the start of the menstrual cycle, then you can calmly exhale and relax. That's the way it should be. As soon as the pain has stopped, it means that everything in your body has stabilized. The hormonal background returned to normal, pathological processes are absent.

The chest may stop hurting due to the desired conception. The hormonal background changes. Some women note sensitivity and soreness. Other women notice that pain has ceased to bother them. Here everything is individual. Both cases are considered acceptable.

Pain may disappear when the woman's age approaches 50 years. At this time, almost everyone begins menopause. There is a fading of sexual functions. Three years before the onset of menopause, menstruation becomes increasingly scarce. Discomfort in the chest is less and less, and soon disappears altogether.

Chest pain can disappear if the sex life has changed dramatically, becoming regular, and not occasionally.

It is worth recalling once again that when chest pains appear, you do not need to wind yourself up and attribute non-existent diseases to yourself. Thoughts are material and if you constantly think about the bad, then the bad can come.

Most often, the cause of pain of this nature is a hormonal imbalance. It is treated, and there is nothing wrong with that. It is enough to visit the doctor and follow the recommendations prescribed by him.

You should not make a diagnosis yourself, looking for symptoms similar to yours in medical reference books or hoping to get competent advice on thematic forums. Self-treatment has never brought anyone to good. Only a doctor can prescribe the correct treatment regimen. He will also identify the cause of your illness and prescribe the necessary medications. No need to delay going to the clinic, taking handfuls of painkillers at home and planting the liver. Nothing will go away on its own. By delaying, you can only aggravate the situation and harm yourself, and you need it. Take care of yourself, because this is primarily necessary for you and only you.

A few days before the onset of menstruation, this is the so-called premenstrual syndrome, a woman begins to increase in size, her breasts swell. At the same time, other symptoms are also observed: pain in the mammary glands and lower abdomen, frequent mood swings, and poor health. The fact is that at this time there is a change in the hormonal background. As a rule, unpleasant signs begin to appear 10 days before menstruation, but this is individual.

There is no unequivocal answer to the question of how many days the size of the mammary glands begins to increase. The reason for this condition can be not only monthly. Some women do not experience PMS symptoms at all, while in others these signs are so expressive that they contribute to a significant deterioration in well-being and decreased performance.

The female breast is highly dependent on the hormonal background of the body, so changes occur in it after ovulation before menstruation, during pregnancy, during menopause. For some, these changes occur in 10 days, for others in two weeks, and for others, the chest swells just before menstruation, for two days.

No matter how many days premenstrual syndrome lasts, it is accompanied by very unpleasant symptoms.

The danger that before menstruation it increases in size, the breast swells and hurts is also in the fact that these signs can signal not only approaching menstruation, but also pathological changes in the woman's body.

10 days before menstruation, women can observe the following changes:

the mammary glands “fill up”, become very sensitive not only to touch, but also to underwear, which can cause discomfort;
the body temperature rises slightly (if the thermometer shows above 37 degrees, it is possible that the inflammatory process has begun and the woman should be immediately examined by a specialist);
there is aching, pulling, burning pain in the chest, the intensity of sensations first increases, and on the first day of menstruation decreases significantly.

Another alarming symptom may be the presence of discharge from the mammary glands. This does not happen to all women. If the discharge is transparent, do not worry, they will pass in 10 days. Otherwise, there is reason to suspect that the woman is pregnant. When a brown, green or blood-tinged fluid is released, you should consult a doctor who will definitely prescribe a cytological examination of the discharge in order to diagnose and begin treatment of an oncological disease in time.

Why does my chest swell and hurt?

If 10 days before menstruation, the chest began to hurt and increase in size, it is most likely premenstrual pain, which is an absolutely normal, physiologically determined reaction of the body to changes occurring in it after ovulation, which did not end in pregnancy. At this time, there is an increase in the alveolar tissue and increased blood flow to the tissues of the mammary glands.

How long this condition can last depends only on the individual characteristics of the female body.

As a rule, unpleasant manifestations begin to disturb a woman 10 days before the period should have come. The fact is that during the period of ovulation in the tissues of the mammary gland, the amount of epithelium increases significantly, which leads to swelling and breast enlargement. This also happens against the background of changes in the hormonal background and a rush of blood to the tissues of the mammary gland.

In some cases, the mammary glands can swell not only 7, 10 or 14 days before menstruation, but also during and after them. The reasons here may be different, so it is better to be examined by a doctor and be sure of the diagnosis.

Most often, changes in the breast after menstruation occur for the following reasons:

ovulation, which occurs immediately after the end of menstruation or even during;
myalgia, accompanied by pain in the chest and swelling of the chest;
pathological changes in the body.

How long the pain and swelling of the mammary glands can last also depends on the individual characteristics of the body.

If it is far longer than 10 days, you can’t let everything go by itself, but contact a specialist.

Other causes of pain

For 2-3 days before menstruation, the breast may swell for other reasons. This happens for various reasons.

Taking hormonal contraceptives can cause menstrual irregularities, which is often accompanied by an increase in the mammary glands and the appearance of pain in them. The intensity of the pain depends on how long the woman takes the drugs and how often.
Breast augmentation occurs as a result of the development of fibrocystic formations in the tissues (mastopathy). The disease is accompanied by pain, the intensity of which increases significantly 10 days before menstruation.
Hormonal disruptions in the body caused by malfunction of the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, problems with the liver, without wasting a day it is worth checking it out.
Eating a lot of salty and spicy foods. Salt does not have time to be removed from the body in time, retains fluid, which leads not only to swelling of the mammary glands, but also to swelling of other parts of the body, in particular, the legs.
Pregnancy. After conception, the hormonal background of a woman changes dramatically. The mammary glands, like the whole body, rebuild their work, preparing for the bearing and birth of a child.

If you are worried about the condition of the mammary glands, no matter how long the discomfort lasts, contact a specialist for a thorough diagnosis - there is not a day to lose. Only in this way can you protect yourself from complex pathologies or begin timely treatment of existing diseases.

How to help yourself?

It is impossible to say unequivocally how many days the mammary glands begin to swell. For some, this happens far before the start of menstruation, 14 or 10 days before, for others, 2-3 days.

To improve your condition, you should follow these recommendations:

give up the use of nicotine and alcohol, drink less drinks containing caffeine;
provide your body with a sufficient amount of magnesium and vitamin E, take vitamin and mineral complexes;
make sure that underwear does not squeeze the mammary glands, as this impairs blood flow in the breast tissues;
drink plenty of pure, non-carbonated water, but eat less salty, spicy foods so that the liquid can be excreted normally;
make compresses, smear the chest with special homeopathic preparations that relieve pain and reduce sensitivity.

Swelling of the mammary glands before menstruation is a normal physiological process that should not cause concern. However, in some cases, breast augmentation can signal the development of serious pathologies.

To prevent them, you should regularly be examined by a doctor, lead a healthy lifestyle, and provide your breasts with proper care.