Muscles and skeleton

Severe tension or physical overexertion can cause pain in the chest muscles. Small muscle fibre tears, which appear 1 to 2 days later as so-called “muscle ache”, but also larger muscle fibre or muscle bundle tears can occur, which involve a long phase of physical restriction. Caution must always be exercised with training or heavy work.

Both bony changes of the ribs and sternum, as well as diseases of the spine can lead to chest pain in women. The thoracic spine contains the spinal cord, from which, among other things, the nerves for the perception of pain originate. Damage can lead not only to back pain but also to chest pain.

Small new bone formations (osteophytes) in the context of benign or malignant cancer can also cause pain if they irritate the surrounding tissue. Many types of cancer metastasise to the bones during the course of the disease. There the cell tissue continues to grow and infiltrate the surrounding area. The symptoms are restricted movement and pain.

Breast pain during pregnancy

During pregnancy there are extensive changes in the body of every woman. The body adapts to the supply of a second living being and the hormone levels change. Within the scope of this enormous strain, various diseases can occur.

Diseases of the heart are basically relevant, but pregnancy hypertension (high blood pressure) does not trigger chest pain. Bronchial asthma during an attack does, however: the tone of the bronchial muscles decreases due to various changes in the woman’s body. This can make it easier for the alveoli to collapse and the lungs to contract.

An asthma attack is not only frightening because of the shortness of breath but can also cause chest pain. A pregnant woman has an increased risk of developing gallstones. If the bile duct is obstructed and a subsequent biliary colic develops, the pain can also migrate into the chest.

But of course the breast itself can also be the source of pain during pregnancy. The glandular tissue develops and prepares to breastfeed the baby after birth and to constantly produce milk. These processes of remodelling put a strain on the tissue in the breast and can lead to a state of tension and thus also to sensitivity to pressure and pain. After birth, inflammation of the mammary glands can occur. Mastitis puerperalis is caused by germs that the baby transmits to the mother’s breast when she drinks.

Chest pain due to stress

Stress triggers stress in the body. The stress hormones adrenalin and noradrenalin are produced and released. The body is thus put into a state of activation and can only with difficulty return to a relaxed state during long-term stress.

Since, for example, occupational stress in itself is associated with little time and this is accompanied by an unhealthy diet and little exercise, the constellation for the development of heart disease is perfect. A CHD (coronary heart disease) is based on this behaviour and can consequently lead to angina pectoris or a heart attack. Stress can lead to an overproduction of the hormone prolactin, especially in women.

This hormone causes the mammary glands to develop to prepare them for the period of breastfeeding after birth. If there is no pregnancy and the breast is not relieved of milk, it infiltrates the surrounding breast tissue and triggers an inflammation there. The resulting mastitis puerperalis is associated with pain in the breast. Other clinical pictures that are associated with stress and can trigger breast pain in women are stomach ulcers and muscular tension.