Introduction
Pain in the chest, are called mastodynia in technical terminology. They can have many different causes. In women, it is most often caused by hormonal fluctuations during the monthly cycle.
Whether the cause is cycle-related or based on other etiologies can usually be seen from the monthly pattern. There is no fixed rule as to when exactly in the cycle section the feeling of tightness in the breast occurs. Many women complain of the greatest pain shortly before menstruation, while for others the symptoms begin a few days earlier.
Cause
The reason for the pain is the fluctuation of the hormone balance during the monthly cycle. Shortly before ovulation there is an increase in estrogen. The follicle, the tissue around the mature egg cell, produces more oestrogen and thus initiates ovulation.
At the same time, due to the strong increase in oestrogen, there is a positive feedback with the pituitary gland, whereupon the stimulus releases more LH (lutenizing hormone). LH causes the follicle to be converted into a corpus luteum after ovulation. The corpus luteum consists mainly of fat and serves to produce progesterone.
In the second half of the cycle, progesterone is therefore the predominant hormone, while the estrogen level drops again after ovulation. Progesterone prepares the uterus and the body for a possible implantation of the egg in case of fertilization. If the implantation is not carried out, the progesterone level drops again and abort bleeding (menstruation) occurs.
Estrogens
Besides regulating the cycle/fertility, estrogens also have an effect on other organs, such as the kidneys. Under the effect of estrogen, the kidneys increase sodium and water retention and excrete less water. As a further consequence, edema can occur in the sense of increased water content in the body.
Many women therefore complain of swollen hands, eyelids or a bloated feeling in the time before or during ovulation. The pain in the breast is also caused by the increased water retention in the breast tissue. The growth of the breast, through swelling of the tissue, puts the skin under increased tension and thus increases the sensitivity of the supplying skin nerves.
