Typically, only one breast will be affected with these symptoms at a time. Mastitis can develop into complications, such as a breast abscess, and often requires treatment from a medical professional.
Why Does My Breast Hurt When I Press It?
Feeling pain when pressing on your breast can be alarming. You may wonder about the cause, and your mind might go to several worst case scenarios.
The good news is that most breast pain is caused by normal shifts in your hormones or by simple-to-treat conditions. Breast pain typically isn’t a symptom of breast cancer . That said, it’s still important to figure out why your breasts hurt when you apply pressure. It isn’t a symptom you should ignore.
In this article, we go over some of the most common causes of breast pain (also known as mastodynia and mastalgia), why it happens, and when you should see a doctor.
Your body goes through a series of hormone shifts every month that are tied to your period. These shifts are meant to prepare your body to host a pregnancy, and to discard unnecessary tissue if a pregnancy doesn’t begin.
These shifts in hormones can also cause pain and tenderness in your breasts. This sensitivity is known as cyclic mastalgia or fibrocystic changes. Around 50 percent of all women over the age of 30 experience this.
Right before your period starts, your breasts may feel especially tender if you press on them, or they may ache. If both of your breasts feel heavy and swollen, if your armpit areas also feel tender, and if you’re expecting your period soon, cyclic mastalgia could be the cause.
Mastitis is an infection of the breast tissue. Mastitis mostly affects women who are breastfeeding, and it can be related to a blocked milk duct or bacterial infection within the duct.
Mastitis can be accompanied by pain, swelling, redness, itching, and a sensation of heat on your breast. It also can cause you to have a fever.
Typically, only one breast will be affected with these symptoms at a time. Mastitis can develop into complications, such as a breast abscess, and often requires treatment from a medical professional.
Some prescription medications can cause breast pain as a side effect. Some of these medications are linked to your hormones, which can lead to breast pain that comes from swollen breast tissue. Others are prescribed to treat heart and cardiovascular conditions, which can lead to breast pain that comes from your chest wall.
Medications with breast and chest pain as a side effect include:
- spironolactone , a medication used for hypertension and cardiovascular disease
- methyldopa , another medication used to treat hypertension
- digoxin/digitalis , which can be used to treat congestive heart failure
- diuretics, designed to increase the amount of water and salt expelled from the body as urine
- hormonal birth control pills
Breast cysts are sacs of fluid that can appear in your breast. They can be small or large, and then can swell or shrink throughout your menstrual cycle.
Breast cysts are extremely common, and researchers estimate that somewhere between 70 and 90 percent of people assigned as female at birth will have a breast cyst during their lifetime.
Breast cysts can feel painful when you press on them, and they may also feel smooth and circular. Most breast cysts are benign, but some do need to be removed.
A breast abscess is a sign of an infection in your breast tissue. They can be a complication of mastitis, or they can develop in people who aren’t breastfeeding.
It’s estimated that between 5 and 11 percent of women who develop mastitis while breastfeeding will go on to develop a breast abscess.
If you’re not breastfeeding, risk factors for developing a breast abscess can include being outside of the weight range recommended for your height and having pierced nipples. African Americans seem to also be at increased risk .
Tumors found in your breast can be benign, or they can be cancerous. Most changes in your breast tissue are benign, with only 3 to 6 percent estimated to be cancerous. What’s more, pain in your breast is rarely a sign that you have a cancerous tumor.
Fibroadenomas are a benign type of tumor that affects up to 25 percent of people assigned female at birth. They are usually painless, but you can sometimes feel them moving through your breast tissue when you apply pressure.
Cancerous breast tumors can cause pain if they’re inflammatory.
Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare type of breast cancer that develops quickly. It accounts for somewhere between 1 and 5 percent of breast cancer diagnoses, according to the American Cancer Society. Other symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer can include redness, swelling, and tenderness.
Your breasts can become bruised or otherwise injured just like the rest of your body.
If you have redness, swelling, or visible discoloration at the sight of your breast pain, it’s possible that you’re healing from a bump or bruise. This can happen as the result of an accident, a slip or fall, or playing sports.
You may also experience breast soreness from working out your chest muscles.
Most causes of breast pain are not a concern, and many will go away without any treatment. However, persistent breast pain isn’t something you should wait out or just hope goes away on its own.
You should talk with a doctor for breast pain if you have any of the following symptoms:
- persistent, sharp pain in one or both breasts
- redness or swelling that doesn’t go away after a day or two
- any redness, swelling, colored drainage, fever, or other sign of infection while you’re breastfeeding
- a lump in your breast
See a doctor right away if you find a lump in your breast
Anyone who finds a lump in their breast should talk with a doctor to find out the cause. Even if the lump isn’t painful, a medical professional should perform a physical exam to determine if additional diagnostic steps need to be taken.
Breast Pain: 10 Reasons Your Breasts May Hurt
Most women experience some form of breast pain at one time or another. Breast pain is typically easy to treat, but on rarer occasions it can be a sign of something more serious.
Medical director of the Suburban Hospital Breast Center Pamela Wright, M.D., discusses the most common causes of breast pain (mastalgia), their treatments and when to see a doctor:
- Hormones are making your breasts sore. Hormonal fluctuations are the number one reason women have breast pain. Breasts become sore three to five days prior to the beginning of a menstrual period and stop hurting after it starts. This is due to a rise in estrogen and progesterone right before your period. These hormones cause your breasts to swell and can lead to tenderness. “It’s normal to have breast tenderness that comes and goes around the time of your period,” says Wright. “It’s nothing to worry about.” If you become pregnant, your breasts may remain sore during the first trimester as hormone production ramps up. Breast tenderness is one of the earliest signs of pregnancy for many women. Steps you can take to minimize sore breasts include:
- Eliminate caffeine
- Eat a low-fat diet
- Reduce salt intake
- Avoid smoking
- Take an over-the-counter pain reliever
- Ask your doctor if switching birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy medications may help
- You have a breast injury. Like any part of your body, breasts can be injured. This can happen because of an accident, while playing sports or from breast surgery. You may feel a sharp, shooting pain at the time of injury. Tenderness can linger for a few days up to several weeks after trauma to the breast. See your doctor if the pain doesn’t improve or you notice any of these signs:
- Severe swelling
- A lump in the breast
- Redness and warmth, which could indicate an infection
- A bruise on your breast that doesn’t go away
- Your breasts hurt due to an unsupportive bra. Without proper support, the ligaments that connect breasts to the chest wall can become overstretched and painful by the end of the day. The result is achy, sore breasts. This may be especially noticeable during exercise. Make sure your bra is the correct size and provides good support.
- Breast pain is really coming from your chest wall. What feels like breast pain may actually be coming from your chest wall. This is the area of muscle, tissue and bone that surrounds and protects your heart and lungs. Common causes of chest wall pain include:
- A pulled muscle
- Inflammation around the ribs
- Trauma to the chest wall (getting hit in the chest)
- Bone fracture
- Breastfeeding is causing breast tenderness. Breastfeeding can sometimes be the source of breast pain. Some of the things you can experience while nursing include:
- Painful nipples from an improper latch (the way a baby latches on to suck)
- Tingling sensation during letdown (when the milk starts to flow to the baby)
- Nipple soreness due to being bitten or having dry, cracked skin or an infection
If you have pain while breastfeeding, it’s best to talk to your doctor or a lactation consultant. They can help you troubleshoot the problem while maintaining your milk supply.
- You have a breast infection. Breastfeeding women are most likely to get breast infections (mastitis), but they occasionally occur in other women, too. If you have a breast infection, you may have a fever and symptoms in one breast, including:
- Pain
- Redness
- Swelling
If you think you may have a breast infection, it’s important to see a doctor. Treatment typically includes antibiotics and pain relievers.
- Oxymethone, used to treat some forms of anemia
- Chlorpromazine, used to treat various mental health conditions
- Water pills (diuretics), drugs that increase urination and are used to treat kidney and heart disease and high blood pressure
- Hormone therapies (birth control pills, hormone replacement or infertility treatments)
- Digitalis, prescribed for heart failure
- Methyldopa, used to treat high blood pressure
- Red or discolored
- Swollen or heavy
- Painful
When to See a Doctor for Breast Pain
Although most cases of breast pain are minor problems, it’s important to talk to your doctor about your concerns. “If you have persistent breast pain, you should be evaluated,” says Wright. “And anyone who has a lump — painful or not — should see their doctor for an exam to make sure there isn’t a problem.”
Find a Doctor
- Mammography
- Breast Cancer
- Breast Biopsy
- Breast Cancer and Pregnancy
- Breast Cancer Prevention
- Breast Health
At Another Johns Hopkins Member Hospital:
- Howard County General Hospital
- Sibley Memorial Hospital
- Suburban Hospital
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