Breast Pain
Breast pain can be related to hormonal changes, cysts, infection, injury, medicines, or pain from nearby muscles and ribs.
About breast pain
Breast pain can be related to hormonal changes, cysts, infection, injury, medicines, or pain from nearby muscles and ribs.
What can cause it?
Breast pain may be cyclical, related to cysts, infection, injury, poorly fitting support, medicines, pregnancy, or pain from the chest wall.
Breast cancer is not a common cause of pain alone, but persistent focal pain still deserves evaluation.
What a patient may notice
Symptoms vary from person to person. Possible signs may include:
- Tenderness in one area or both breasts
- Pain that changes with the menstrual cycle
- Redness, warmth, swelling, or a lump
How clinicians find the cause
A clinician reviews location, duration, menstrual relation, pregnancy possibility, injury, medicines, and associated lump or discharge. Examination and age-appropriate ultrasound or mammography may be recommended.
Treatment and next steps
- 1
Treatment targets the cause and may include support changes, clinician-approved pain care, treatment of infection, or management of hormonal and chest-wall factors.
- 2
A breast abscess may need drainage.
- 3
Chest pressure or cardiopulmonary symptoms require emergency assessment rather than a breast-pain visit.
Supporting recovery
- Use a properly fitted supportive bra and track the pattern of pain.
- Avoid repeated pressing on the painful area.
- Discuss medicine changes with the prescriber rather than stopping them independently.
What to expect
Breast pain often improves when hormonal changes, support, medicines, infection, or chest-wall causes are addressed. Pain alone is not a common sign of breast cancer, but persistent pain in one location or pain with a lump, discharge, or skin change still requires evaluation.
Possible complications
- Breast infection or abscess when redness, warmth, and fever are present
- Ongoing sleep, exercise, or daily-activity disruption from persistent pain
- Delayed evaluation of an associated lump, nipple change, or non-breast cause of chest pain
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Arrange an evaluation when symptoms are new, worsening, interfering with normal activities, or not improving as expected.
Call 911 for chest pressure, trouble breathing, sweating, fainting, or pain spreading to the arm, back, neck, or jaw.Get emergency help for severe trouble breathing, new chest pressure, fainting, seizure, sudden weakness on one side, uncontrolled bleeding, blue or gray lips, or a person who is difficult to wake.
Ways to lower risk
- Good support during activity and prompt treatment of breastfeeding-related blockage may reduce some episodes.
- Many cyclical causes cannot be fully prevented.
Trusted health information
This CHS patient-education page uses original wording and links to MedlinePlus for additional information.