Why does the right breast hurt more before menstruation? How many days before your period do your mammary glands start to hurt? Ovarian dysfunction

The question of why breasts hurt before menstruation arises for many people. Sometimes the discomfort is so severe that a woman cannot perform her usual duties. But more often painful sensations are aching in nature and are associated with hormonal imbalance.

Should your breasts hurt before your period?

Not all women experience pain before menstruation. But, nevertheless, such discomfort is not considered pathological, so you need to understand why your chest hurts before your period.

Norm and pathology

After ovulation, the production of estrogen in a woman’s body increases. These hormones increase the volume of fatty tissue in the breast in order to prepare it for possible pregnancy. As a result, the sensitivity of the mammary glands increases, which provokes pain.

The intensity of painful sensations is always individual. Mild pain is considered normal. Their high intensity is a reason to consult a doctor, as this may be a symptom of the development of various pathologies.

Excruciating pain is provoked by improper functioning of the ovaries and hormonal imbalance in the body. In addition, they can be caused by various gynecological diseases and the development of mastopathy. Attention to severe pain women at risk should be advised before menstruation.

You must be under the supervision of a doctor if you have:

  • Gynecological pathologies.
  • Inflammation of the mammary glands or organs that are located next to them.
  • Breast diseases.
  • Malignant and benign tumors.
  • Cases of abortions or spontaneous terminations of pregnancy.
  • Burdened heredity.
  • Evidence of long-term use of oral contraceptives.

How many days before menstruation do “normal” pains appear?

The time at which pain occurs depends on the length of the cycle. As a rule, for most women it lasts 28 days. This means that ovulation occurs approximately 14 days before the start of your period. It is during this period that pain occurs and breast sensitivity increases.

What kind of pain does a girl most often experience?

Most often, pain in the chest before menstruation is aching in nature, but sometimes it is quite strong and covers the entire area of ​​the mammary gland. In addition to pain, premenstrual syndrome is accompanied by irritability and mood instability. Such reactions of the body are associated with increased production of female hormones.

How many days do breasts usually hurt and become full?

Breast tenderness persists for approximately 2 weeks. The most severe discomfort is felt on the last day before menstruation. As soon as menstruation occurs, the breasts immediately become softer and the pain begins to subside. If this does not happen, the mammary glands hurt after the end of menstruation, it is necessary to undergo examination by a doctor, as this is evidence of the development of some pathology.

My breasts stopped hurting before my period - what does this mean?

As a rule, pain occurs in young girls experiencing hormonal changes due to the maturation of the body. But under the influence of any external factors the pain may disappear.

It is not considered a pathology if this happened for the following reasons:

  • beginning of sexual activity. This factor changes hormonal levels and can lead to breast pain no longer observed before menstruation;
  • taking hormonal medications;
  • stabilization of the menstrual cycle after full puberty;
  • active sex life.

In addition, the breasts may stop hurting before menstruation if they have been eliminated pathological causes discomfort. For example, when mastopathy is cured or work is restored gastrointestinal tract. In addition, pain will decrease and even disappear if stabilized. nervous system, if frequent stressful situations, weight loss diets, neuropsychic overloads, etc. disappear from life.

Breasts hurt and become enlarged, but no periods

If your breasts hurt, but your period does not start, you should first suspect pregnancy. If conception occurs, the sensitivity of the nipples increases and pronounced swelling of the mammary glands is observed. You can check this fact using a pregnancy test. If it is negative, then it should be repeated after a couple of days. You can more accurately determine the fact of pregnancy by passing laboratory tests.

If pregnancy is not confirmed, it is imperative to look for the cause of the pathology. It can be quite serious.

The absence of menstruation due to chest pain can be caused by:

  • hormonal imbalance;
  • ectopic pregnancy;
  • mastopathy;
  • oncological processes.

Breast pain and absent periods can occur during puberty or at the onset of menopause. Sometimes the chest hurts, but there are no periods when the climate changes. As a rule, this syndrome is typical for weather-dependent women.

What to do if your breasts hurt a lot before menstruation

Of course, when your breasts hurt badly before your period, it is necessary to conduct an examination and identify provoking factors.

If no serious pathologies are found, then to reduce the intensity of pain you can use the following tips:

    Follow a special diet during the period of pain. Spicy and salty foods should be removed from the diet; you need to eat as many vegetables and fruits as possible. You should also limit your intake of strong tea and coffee.

    It is necessary to wear spacious and comfortable bras that have special support on the sides.

    Do not massage your breasts as this will increase the intensity pain syndrome and may cause swelling.

Magnesium preparations are effective means for relieving chest pain before menstruation. They are recommended to be taken approximately a couple of weeks before the start of menstruation. It is also recommended to take vitamin E every day. After about a month, you will feel significant relief.

How to reduce pain with folk remedies

There are many effective traditional methods, which are recommended for use when breasts hurt before menstruation. A vegetable compress is effective. It uses beets and cabbage leaves. Raw beets are grated and a little honey is added to it, if this product is not available allergic reactions. After this, the cabbage leaf is beaten to release the juice. Then he is placed on the sore chest and a beetroot-honey mixture is placed on it. This compress is covered with polyethylene and wrapped. It has been proven that this procedure not only reduces pain, but also allows you to remove small lumps in the mammary gland.

Flaxseeds help normalize hormonal levels. To decrease painful sensations in the chest before menstruation, you need to grind the seeds and consume the powder one tablespoon 2 times a day, washing it down with plenty of water.

When your chest hurts before your period, you can relieve the pain with a soothing decoction of valerian, mint, fennel and cumin. To do this, all components must be taken in equal quantities and mixed. Then pour boiling water over one teaspoon of the mixture and leave to steep for half an hour. This is the daily dose. The strained and cooled broth should be drunk in 3 doses before meals.

Physical activity has a positive effect on chest pain. Swimming is considered especially beneficial. It is also recommended to practice various types fitness or at least brisk walking.

Traditional healers recommend that on the day when chest discomfort usually occurs, brew and drink chamomile tea with an apple and orange zest. This drink has anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic properties, it will help reduce the intensity of pain.

Painful and uncomfortable sensations in the breasts before menstruation are common for the vast majority of women. As a rule, representatives of the fair sex begin to feel them approximately 10-12 days before menstruation and in some cases experience unbearable suffering.

In such a situation, girls often wonder why the mammary glands hurt before menstruation, and whether this is a normal state of the body or a pathology that requires immediate consultation with a doctor.

Why do my breasts start to hurt before my period?

Normally, approximately 12-14 days after the start of the next menstrual cycle, a significant increase in the concentration of estrogen hormones occurs in a woman’s blood. This is due to the fact that at this time the body beautiful lady begins to prepare for a possible pregnancy and subsequent lactation.

Estrogens are localized predominantly in fatty tissue, therefore, as their concentration increases, the volume of adipose tissue of the mammary glands increases. The glandular areas of the breast also grow, since when pregnancy occurs they have to take on the main role in lactation.

The tissue that makes up the mammary glands has a lobular structure. Each of the lobules of the female breast, in turn, includes a glandular region, as well as areas of adipose and connective tissue. When, approximately in the middle of the menstrual cycle, the fatty and glandular areas begin to grow rapidly, the connective tissue cannot keep up with them and, as a result, ruptures, which causes intense pain.

It is this reason that explains why the breasts hurt and swell before menstruation. In addition, under the influence of changes in the concentration of hormones such as progesterone and prolactin, female mammary glands become engorged and swell. The sensitivity of the breast increases significantly, as a result of which it begins to react to any external influences. This can also contribute to pain and discomfort that significantly worsens general state women.

Why does only 1 breast hurt before menstruation?

In rare cases, girls and women experience pain in only one breast before menstruation. Although this situation may be due to the individual characteristics of a beautiful lady, in the vast majority of cases it indicates the presence of a disease such as.

With this disease, pathological growth of tissue in one of the mammary glands occurs, which requires detailed examination and monitoring by a doctor. To exclude the development of the disease, if pain occurs in only one breast, you should definitely consult a doctor.

Why did my mammary glands stop hurting before my period?

Finally, some representatives of the fair sex suddenly discover that their breasts no longer hurt before menstruation, although previously they always experienced this unpleasant symptom. This situation can become a cause for serious concern, because a woman gets used to the occurrence of certain processes in her body, and any changes frighten her.

In reality, in most cases there is nothing to worry about. Such a disappearance of pain, as a rule, indicates normalization of hormonal levels or a cure for certain diseases of the reproductive system. Meanwhile, sometimes changes of this kind may indicate a problem, so you should probably purchase a test.

Chest pain before menstruation is observed in more than 90% of women and girls. Some people barely notice them, while for others they are unbearable and reduce their quality of life. Why do breasts hurt before menstruation and what to do?

Content:

Causes of chest pain before menstruation

Painful sensations in the chest area approximately 10-12 days before the onset of menstruation have a scientific name - mastodynia. This phenomenon is absolutely normal, often due to the proliferation of glandular tissue of the mammary glands. This is due to the fact that before the release of a mature egg from the follicle (the second phase of the menstrual cycle, approximately 12-14 days), a sharp production of estrogen hormones is observed (the body prepares for pregnancy), which affects the mammary glands. Their tissue has a lobular structure, each lobule includes glandular, connective and adipose tissue and has a milk duct. It is in adipose tissue that estrogens are localized, and as their levels increase, the volume of adipose tissue also increases. The glandular areas also enlarge in preparation for lactation. Under the influence of prolactin and progesterone, engorgement and swelling of the mammary gland occurs, increasing its sensitivity, hence the pain. Most often, the appearance of such a physiological condition in women is facilitated by stress and nervous tension.

The intensity of pain in each specific case is expressed differently, which is determined by many factors that influence hormonal levels (lifestyle, age, health, etc.). For about 10-12 days, the chest hurts before menstruation, with the onset of menstruation, that is, not the onset of pregnancy, they immediately disappear.

Video: Why do your breasts hurt before your period?

What to do if your breasts hurt before your period

If such a physiological state does not affect a woman in any way and does not cause discomfort, then there is nothing to worry about and nothing to do. If chest pain persists even after the start of menstruation, you should visit a specialist doctor, since this is a deviation from the norm; pain in this case can be provoked by various reasons (gynecological diseases, hormonal disorders, colds, nervous strain, tumors, etc.).

You should be concerned about chest pain if there is a radical change in the course of your cycle. For example, your breasts never really hurt before your period, or, on the contrary, you always knew about the imminent onset of menstruation precisely by the unpleasant sensation in your chest - both options are the norm. But if you see that the course of the cycle is not the same as usual, and repeats for several months in a row, then you need to contact a specialist. You should also consult a doctor when your usual breast engorgement and pain before menstruation suddenly do not occur. This may be due to a decrease in progesterone levels, which negatively affects the ability to conceive and bear a child.

To be sure that such a physiological state in your case is the norm, it is recommended to visit a gynecologist twice a year, a mammologist once a year, and conduct a breast self-examination once a month (alternately, grab the left breast from below with your left, and the right - right hand, use the pads of the index, middle and ring fingers of your free hand to feel your breasts in spiral movements, starting from the base to the nipple).

If you detect lumps in the mammary glands or bloody (purulent) discharge from the nipples during a self-examination, you should contact a mammologist; if such signs are absent, you should visit a gynecologist. Identifying and eliminating them in a timely manner is a priority. In each specific case, the doctor acts individually. Common methods there is no solution to the problem.

To determine the cause of chest pain before menstruation, several tests are prescribed:

  1. Blood test for hormones (prolactin and thyroid hormones).
  2. Analysis of tumor markers - indicators of the risk of cancer of the female reproductive system.
  3. Ultrasound of the pelvic organs (7 days after the end of menstruation).
  4. Ultrasound of the mammary glands (second phase of the menstrual cycle).

How to reduce pain?

To reduce discomfort in the chest before menstruation, an integrated approach is required, including a diet in the second phase of the menstrual cycle with limited fluid, salt, and fat; refusal of tea, coffee, alcohol; from wearing tight, tight or squeezing clothing. Specialists can prescribe magnesium-containing drugs in the second half of the cycle, hormonal agents contraception, herbal preparations against the development of mastodynia. It is good to take anti-inflammatory and soothing herbs, which contain herbs such as cinquefoil, tartar, nettle, peony, St. John's wort, string, meadowsweet, dandelion root, celandine, mantle.

To prevent chest pain before menstruation, avoid hypothermia and stress. Most importantly, do not self-medicate; if you have pain that bothers you, contact a specialist.


Many women have experienced pain in the chest area at different times in their lives. This symptom is not a prerequisite for panic or fear, but it should attract attention in order to take appropriate measures. When pain is felt in one breast, but in the other there are no manifestations or presence of discomfort, then this is a signal to visit a mammologist. There may be several reasons for this phenomenon. Many of them do not pose a threat to women, but some are quite dangerous.

Sometimes your breasts start to hurt before your period

Pain localized in the mammary glands is called mastalgia. This condition can occur in two forms, as shown in the table.

Cyclic mastalgia

This phenomenon has another name – mastodynia. It is associated with pain that is localized in the female mammary glands. It is mastalgia that can create a situation where one mammary gland hurts before menstruation, although usually the process affects both glands at the same time. Such pain is associated with the menstrual cycle and usually begins 2-7 days before the onset. As a rule, many women do not experience any particular discomfort, since the pain is insignificant, and there is a feeling of fullness in the chest and a burning sensation. After a few days it all goes away.

With mastalgia, pain is observed in only one breast

However, some women complain of severe pain that disrupts their usual lifestyle. The patient’s health is deteriorating, which indicates the activation of pathological processes.

Noncyclic mastalgia

Such pain has no connection with menstrual cycle. Their cause is completely different, often depending on pathological changes. However, there are also natural factors, for example, pain can result from pregnancy, when hormonal changes provoke the dominant role of estrogen and human chorionic gonadotropin. Under their influence, swelling of the mammary gland lobules occurs. The breasts become sensitive and sometimes painful.

The pain varies in intensity - a slight burning sensation, tingling, strong tension in the glands or a dull pain radiating to the area of ​​the shoulder blades, lower back, and upper extremities. By the end of the 1st trimester, such sensations disappear. From week 20, the breasts enlarge in preparation for feeding. There may be some discomfort, but there should be no pain.

If the pain does not go away for a long time or is observed exclusively in one gland, you should visit a doctor.

What are the features of physiology

The female mammary gland has a rather complicated structure - it contains fatty, connective and glandular tissues. If their combination is disrupted for any reason, various changes are activated. Moreover, sometimes they are associated with dangerous symptoms. One of the factors that provoke changes in structure are hormones. The reason is the hormone dependence of the breast, and the background itself changes both under the influence of diseases and pathological processes, and as a result of changing phases of the menstrual cycle.


PMS can cause chest pain and discomfort

Most women complain of soreness or discomfort in the mammary glands on the eve of menstruation. These signs refer to the symptoms of the prognosis of approaching PMS. However, the peculiarity is that two breasts are involved in the process at the same time, since they are both influenced by the action of hormones.

If only one breast hurts before your period, then there is a high probability of abnormalities or pathology, and therefore a visit to the doctor will be necessary.

What diseases can be

When breast tenderness is caused by natural causes - the menstrual cycle or pregnancy, this is quite normal. However, there are a number of pathological disorders that are dangerous for women and are accompanied by pain in the mammary glands:

  1. Mastopathy is a benign ailment associated with malfunctions in its structural structure. The pathology may affect both breasts, but pain may be felt only in one.
  2. Mastitis caused by inflammatory processes in iron. Nursing mothers complain of this condition due to stagnation of milk, when the pain is localized in a single breast or in both at once.
  3. A cyst is a benign neoplasm in the form of a cavity. It contains liquid. If it is large, active pain is possible.
  4. Fibroadenoma is a benign tumor in connective and glandular tissues. Sometimes accompanied by bloating, burning, pain.
  5. Cancer. At the initial stages, the disease does not manifest itself, but subsequently causes bloating, heaviness, painful manifestations, hyperemia, the appearance of discharge.
  6. Injuries, mechanical damage, including those caused by tight and uncomfortable underwear.

Problems may occur due to the presence of a cancerous tumor

If after menstruation one breast hurts, then you should consider the possibility of factors not caused by pathology of the mammary glands:

  • stretching in the area pectoral muscles due to active physical activity in the gym or due to physical labor;
  • necrosis in fatty tissues due to lack of help in treating problems with the body;
  • lung diseases - sensations in the chest appear when coughing and movements upper limbs, with a deep breath;
  • intercostal neuralgia due to compression of nerve fibers or endings - the pain becomes stronger when the body posture changes or sudden movements are made;
  • osteochondrosis.

How to diagnose

Patients often complain that one breast hurts before menstruation, and the condition does not improve after the end of the cycle. Then you should definitely consult a doctor. A visit to the clinic will be necessary in the following situations:

  • the appearance is not associated with menstruation;
  • the pain is accompanied by a strong burning sensation and intense distension in the mammary glands;

For prolonged pain, consult a doctor
  • localization is one-sided, expressed in separate areas of one breast;
  • over time the feeling intensifies;
  • At the same time, other signs appear - increased temperature, changes in the shape of the gland, the appearance of nodes and formations, changes in color, the appearance of discharge without connection with pregnancy;
  • pain every day for 2 weeks;
  • health deteriorates and performance is impaired.

If pathological changes are suspected after palpating the breast, instrumental and laboratory tests may be prescribed:

  1. Ultrasound of the breast and pelvic organs.
  2. Examination of hormonal balance.
  3. X-ray, ductography, cancer markers.
  4. Puncture or biopsy.

This video will tell you what chest pain means:

What is the treatment

When breast pain is insignificant and the discomfort goes away quickly, treatment will not be prescribed. Mastopathy is accompanied by constant pain. Moreover, it can be diffuse, when the enlargement and thickening of the breast is uniform, or fibrous. The woman will feel heaviness and fullness in the chest, the nipple becomes painful. Since the disease is provoked by endocrine disorders, the woman is prescribed medications to stabilize her hormonal levels.

To effectively eliminate the problem, you will need to balance your diet, adjust your drinking regime, and select comfortable, non-traumatic clothing.

If the pain is caused pathological processes, then the disease that provoked the symptoms is treated.

Before the onset of menstruation, many women complain of a nagging pain in the left breast area that does not subside throughout the day. Why does the left breast hurt before menstruation, and can it be this symptom indicate the development of serious diseases?

Possible causes of discomfort

If a woman has pain in her left breast before her period, she often doesn’t even pay attention to it. The fact is that many ladies experience unpleasant, nagging pain in the mammary glands before the onset of menstruation. The easiest way to explain this is that serious hormonal changes occur in the body, and the breasts, as one of the most sensitive parts of the female body, react to these changes with discomfort.

Before menstruation begins, a woman's nipples become more sensitive, which can also cause breast pain. That is why during this period it is recommended to wear the most comfortable underwear that will not put pressure on your already sensitive bust.

However, pain associated with hormonal changes is most often symmetrical, that is, both breasts hurt, and discomfort may not disappear throughout the day. If your left breast hurts before your period, but the condition of the other does not cause any concern, you should be wary. Perhaps the lady develops focal mastopathy in the area of ​​the left breast. This disease itself is very common and is characterized by the appearance of small tumors, which cause heaviness in the chest. With mastopathy, both mammary glands and one of them can hurt.

In the early stages of development, the disease is treated quite easily, but if mastopathy is neglected, the woman will have to face the considerable consequences of her own frivolity in the form of benign and malignant tumors.

By the way, the cancerous tumor itself very rarely becomes a source of mild pain in one or the other breast. Typically, malignant tumors develop without any signs, and in the early stages they do not cause the woman any discomfort at all. Sharp pain in the chest area, which cannot be relieved even with the strongest medications, is a symptom characteristic of the late stage of development of a cancerous tumor. Since it is almost impossible to determine a neoplasm on your own, a woman after 30 needs to be examined by a mammologist at least once a year.

Fibroadenoma - quite common reason the appearance of a sharp, dull pain in one breast. This disease occurs due to the growth benign tumor, which blocks the milk ducts, causing severe pain. This disease is usually consolidated in only one breast, and it is in this area that focal pain occurs. You can cope with fibroadenoma using modern medical methods, but the sooner a woman consults a doctor, the better it will be.

It should not be ruled out that pain in the left breast arose due to serious problems with internal organs. On the left side is the heart, where the spleen and most of the stomach are located. Pain in these organs can lead to discomfort being transferred to the left breast. Typically, with the development of such diseases, pain appears and disappears, and it can increase over time.

Procedure for pain in the left chest

The first thing a girl should do is try to understand the area of ​​unpleasant sensations. If before your period only the nipple on your left breast hurts, then the problem may be due to hormonal changes in the body. Typically, women know their bodies very well, and they are very familiar with the monthly pain in the chest area that heralds menstruation.

If the nature of the pain in the left breast suddenly changes, if the lady feels that the area of ​​discomfort is growing, and new formations have appeared in the chest, it is necessary to immediately consult a doctor. Only a specialist, having carefully palpated the breasts and performed an ultrasound, will be able to determine the cause of the disturbing problem.

Despite the fact that the doctor can make several diagnosis options, most often a woman is faced with mastopathy. It is this disease that can be focal in nature, causing pain in only one breast. There are many methods for treating mastopathy, but early stages Doctors limit themselves to medicinal methods of eliminating the problem. Tablets in combination with special gels that need to be rubbed into the chest will help the lady get rid of unpleasant symptoms. If mastopathy is already in a developed state and has begun to spread its effect to the lymph nodes, apply surgical methods. Methods of surgical removal of damaged lymph nodes often does not justify itself, because the disease is insidious and can soon regain its regained positions.

Another feature of mastopathy lies in the fact that this disease can torment both older women and young ladies who have not even begun to have an active sex life. An insidious disease can masquerade as menstrual pain in the chest area, and therefore many ladies do not pay attention to the disease for a long period.

If discomfort in the chest area is associated with benign or malignant formations, doctors prescribe a course of medications. If the disease continues to progress, surgical methods may also be used.

Self-medication in the event of such a problem is unlikely to be relevant. The fact is that a person without special medical education It is difficult to determine the essence of the problem and prescribe the appropriate treatment. An incorrect diagnosis can cause the disease to continue to progress, and the girl herself will feel increased pain.

Pain in the left breast that is too strong or does not disappear for a long time should definitely alert the girl. Usually such unpleasant sensations indicate the progress of some diseases, and ignoring primary signs diseases, a woman affects her future well-being.