Most women have tender breasts occasionally, for a few days monthly before their period. Some may feel tortured by aching breasts for weeks at a time.

Sometimes breasts swell, hurt, or are sore or heavy, and this happens for many reasons. Most of the time these pains are cyclical breast discomfort that accompanies women throughout their whole reproductive life and is associated with levels of estrogen.

Breast tenderness can also be one of the signals of an unhealthy breast condition that is accompanied by other symptoms like breast pain. Luckily, there are many medical and non-medical treatments for the causes.

If you suspect this is the case, see your doctor to make sure everything is fine.

Here are some reasons for tender breasts and what you can do to relieve them:

• Wrong bra.If you are wearing a wrongly fitted bra, it may be the most likely cause of your sensitive breasts.

• If you are also having difficulty moving your shoulder and or there is bruising or swelling, it may be a muscle strain. What you can do here is rest and stretch carefully. If your problem doesn’t go away in a few days, see your doctor.

• It’s a bump or bruising. See your doctor for medication and change your bra to a looser fitting one. You may also apply cold or heat.

• Period. Breasts usually feel sore during PMS, so the unpleasant sensation should go away in 2-3 days. To relieve it, you can be mindful and wear a special bra that is not too tight. Eliminating caffeine, alcohol, high-fat foods and salt from your diet for 1-2 weeks before your period may help manage or prevent PMS.

• It’s a sign of pregnancy. If you’re not sure you’re pregnant, get an over-the-counter test. In the first few weeks of pregnancy you may relieve breast tenderness by changing your bra, applying heat, or wearing a special bra to bed.

• It’s from breastfeeding.Make sure you’re breastfeeding correctly, so that there’s no excess milk in your breasts. Apply a compress.

• It’s from hormone medication. Talk to your doctor about trying a different medication or another birth control method, like IUDs or condoms.  

• It’s an infection. First of all you should see your doctor right away for a proper prescription of oral antibiotics. Otherwise, you may develop an abscess. Additionally, drink a lot of water and fluids and don’t wear tight fitting bras.  

Breast tenderness is common and it's often worrying because people think, "Is it a hormonal disorder?" Additionally they may be worried that it's cancer. When women complain of breast tenderness the first thing doctors do is ask how old they are. So new breast tenderness in a 70-year-old is more worrying than breast tenderness in a 24-year-old.

If you decide to see your doctor or ask him/her about breast tenderness during your annual visit, they will definitely ask about your age and the date of your last period, as breast tenderness is the most common cyclical menstruation symptom. So please check with your MIA app regarding your menstruation before an appointment.

Sources:

Breast soreness, The Women's Royal Hospital

Good-Bye Breast Tenderness: 7 Natural Treatments You Can Count On, Aviva Romm MD

Breast pain, mayoclinic.org