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Chest hurts before menstruation: what to do? Video
Many women report the appearance of aching pain in the mammary glands before the onset of menstruation. And although they seem to be a natural phenomenon associated with the physiological cycles of the female body, they may not always be harmless.
Chest pain before menstruation
Causes of chest pain during PMS
Premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, is a condition characteristic of a woman’s body, in which changes occur associated with the rejection of an unfertilized egg. PMS is a complex symptom complex that manifests itself in a number of metabolic-hormonal, neuropsychic and vegetative-vascular disorders, which manifest themselves to varying degrees in a particular woman and depend on the individual characteristics of the organism.
The presence of these disorders is noted by almost 80% of women, in most of them PMS is accompanied by physical and emotional-psychological discomfort, attacks of unmotivated aggression, irritability and tearfulness, pain in the lower abdomen and in the chest
The reason for the appearance of characteristic chest pains are changes in the structure of the tissues of the mammary glands associated with the next cyclical restructuring of the functions of the female body, regulated by hormones such as estrogen, prolactin and progesterone.
In the period that has passed from the previous menstruation, the entire body of a woman, including the breast, was preparing for the onset of pregnancy and lactation. In some women, such changes even become noticeable: by the end of the menstrual cycle, the breasts increase, since the glandular tissues increase in volume. In the case when conception does not occur and the unfertilized egg leaves the uterus, the glandular tissues begin to atrophy, and the breasts begin to shrink. This process is accompanied by pain and is cyclical in nature; it is called mastodynia by doctors and is considered a natural and normal physiological phenomenon.
Chest pain before menstruation is a cause for concern
Even if you experience chest pains from the very first menstruation, you still need to see and consult with both a gynecologist and a mammologist, and even more so when cyclical pains causing significant discomfort have appeared relatively recently. Sometimes their cause is not only involutional processes in the tissues of the mammary glands, but also quite serious diseases, such as oncology and thyroid dysfunction. To make sure that this is not the case, you should also see an endocrinologist.
Dysfunction of the pelvic organs, inflammation of the ovaries, hormonal imbalance, genital infections, or the onset of cyst formation can be the cause of very severe chest pain.
Menstruation is an additional burden for many internal organs and systems, so they can provoke so-called indirect pain, which can be caused by: intercostal neuralgia, inflammation of the nerves, problems of the cardiovascular system.
To make sure that this is not the case, you will need to pass tests, incl. and for oncological markers, check the activity of the thyroid gland, do mammography and ultrasound of the mammary gland and, perhaps, of the pelvic organs. When all other causes are eliminated by doctors, it means that you are quite healthy and chest pain is really “just” a symptom of PMS.
How to reduce chest pain before menstruation
In the course of medical studies of the PMS symptom, the dependence of the strength and duration of painful sensations on how well a woman eats, whether her diet is balanced. Eating fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, meat and fish, seafood, whole grains and breads has a positive effect on overall well-being and normal metabolism.
It is better to avoid alcohol, saturated fat, chocolate and coffee during PMS.
To normalize the hormonal background, the menu must include soy products, nuts and seeds. Your diet should contain foods containing calcium, magnesium, vitamins B6 and E, after consulting your doctor, you can additionally prescribe multivitamins or mineral supplements that are suitable for you. Keep in mind that a healthy lifestyle that can ease PMS includes physical activity. Aerobic exercise and brisk walking are affordable and will not take up much of your time, but will bring great benefits.
Do not take pain relievers for pain during PMS when you decide to have a baby
In the event that you cannot do without drugs, you can use traditional pain relievers: acetaminophen (Tylenol) or those that are part of the non-steroidal group: ibuprofen, naproxen, or regular aspirin. These drugs, although dispensed without a doctor’s prescription, should be taken with extreme caution and only in cases where the pain is very severe and really causes discomfort. Components that relieve pain during PMS are contained in many oral contraceptives, but sometimes they themselves cause such pain, everything here is individual and depends on your hormonal background.
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