--- ---  # Breast Pain: Why Do My Boobs Hurt? ## Video: Should I Eat Potatoes? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Potatoes?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Qvl4qujO.m3u8) (1:19)  _Published 2015-03-18. Should you eat potatoes? Here's why 5/5 health experts told us yes -- as long as you don't turn them in to french fries or a sour cream delivery vehicle._ by [Markham Heid](https://time.com/author/markham-heid/) ## Markham Heid Markham Heid is a contributor at TIME. He is the author of The Habit Trap, due out in early 2027. Updated: Dec 13, 2023 2:00 PM UTCPublished: Apr 1, 2015 12:00 PM UTC  Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME by [Markham Heid](https://time.com/author/markham-heid/) ## Markham Heid Markham Heid is a contributor at TIME. He is the author of The Habit Trap, due out in early 2027. Updated: Dec 13, 2023 2:00 PM UTCPublished: Apr 1, 2015 12:00 PM UTC From a dull ache to a sharp stab, breasts hurt in a hundred different ways for a hundred different reasons. For many women, those myriad aches and stabs are the results of normal, healthy hormone fluctuations related to their menstrual cycles. “Pain is most common during that period of a woman’s cycle just before she menstruates, when hormones like estrogen and progesterone peak,” says Karthik Ghosh, MD, director of the breast clinic at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. You probably already knew that. But when your hormones go haywire, why do your breasts feel beat up? Rising estrogen levels stimulate the breasts’ milk ducts, while spiking progesterone does the same to a woman’s milk glands. Both can result in swelling and pain. Progesterone also causes fluid retention, which can lead to a feeling of heaviness or tenderness, Ghosh says. With the onset of menstruation, levels of those hormones drop off, Ghosh says. For that reason, breast pain or tenderness tends to subside as soon as a woman starts her period. Because oral contraceptives iron out those hormonal peaks and valleys, women on birth control often don’t experience this monthly ebb and flow of aching. (But when women first start a contraceptive like the pill, some pain is common.) Many women also experience cysts, which result when pockets of fluid form within the ducts of the breast. These cysts can sometimes be painful, says Dr. Susan Harvey, director of the Johns Hopkins Breast Imaging Section. Young women in puberty, pregnant women and older women nearing menopause may all experience breast pain due to hormone fluctuations, says Dr. Bonmyong Lee, Harvey’s colleague and an assistant professor of radiology at Johns Hopkins. Particularly during the early stages of menopause, women who may have never had pain or cysts may suddenly start to experience both, Lee says. ### You Asked: Your Top 10 Health Questions Answered  You Asked: Are Cleanses Healthy? Potions that claim to clear your body of toxins might sound alluring, but do they deliver? Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Eating Dessert Really That Bad For Me? Bad news for sweet-eaters—except if you end your meals with this kind of treat. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What’s the Best Way to Whiten My Teeth? Yes, teeth whitening actually works—but here's why you have to dish out major bucks to see results. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Meditation Really Worth It? From easing stress to lowering heart disease risk, focusing your mind can do some amazing things for your body. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What’s the Healthiest Sweetener? Take a taste of the unsettled science of sweeteners. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Should I Go Paleo? The pros and cons of eating like a caveman. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Cracking Your Knuckles Bad? Here's what really happens to your joints when you snap, crackle and pop. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Running on a Treadmill as Good as Running Outside? You'll fool your body into thinking it's outside with this one small treadmill tweak. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Does Laughing Have Real Health Benefits? Here's proof that everybody could use a belly laugh. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What Is My Poo Telling Me? If you listen hard enough, you'll hear all kinds of health stories from #2. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME Apart from these hormone-related issues, Ghosh says anything that causes chest wall muscle soreness—like starting a new workout—can cause what’s called secondary pain in the breasts. Many women who exercise regularly experience discomfort and even pain in their breasts from the constant movement. A [survey](http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2013/03/14/bjsports-2013-092175) of close to 1,400 women registered for the 2012 London Marathon, published in the journal _The British Journal of Sports Medicine_ in 2013, reported that over a third of the women said their breasts were often sore. Though exercise may not have been the cause of breast pain for all the women, the researchers say it was a predominant factor. Even so, 44% of the women said they did not take any measures to relieve the pain even though it was uncomfortable. Pain can also be caused by a common type of inflammation, called _costochondritus_, which affects the place where a woman’s ribs and sternum come together. Even an unsupportive brassiere can allow the breasts to pull on the chest wall, leading to pain, Ghosh says. One condition that tends _not_ to cause pain is cancer. For women who may notice a lump that is sensitive or painful, it’s more likely a benign cyst, Ghosh says. Still, she recommends seeing a doctor if you find a lump, painful or otherwise. There are several less common or unproven causes of breast pain, from infection to caffeine consumption. So how can you determine whether to worry or brush it off? If the pain is concentrated in one part of your breast and doesn’t subside after a few weeks, see someone, Harvey says. You should also visit a doctor if your skin is flushed or red, which may be a sign of an infection. “There’s no golden rule when it comes to identifying specific types of breast pain,” Ghosh says. “If it worries you or seems out of the ordinary, see a doctor.” [_Read next: Should I Dry Brush My Skin?_](http://time.com/3756761/dry-brushing-skin/) Breast Pain and Breast Tenderness: Why Do My Boobs Hurt? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3765799/breast-pain/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3765799/breast-pain/"},"headline":"Breast Pain: Why Do My Boobs Hurt?","datePublished":"2015-04-01T12:00:29.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T14:00:55.000Z","description":"Most of the time, blame hormones.","url":"https://time.com/3765799/breast-pain/","keywords":["Public Health"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8b7b2d67330b04a/698786172dce01a4329de4de/why-do-my-boobs-hurt-you-asked.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Markham Heid","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/markham-heid/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8b7b2d67330b04a/698786172dce01a4329de4de/why-do-my-boobs-hurt-you-asked.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"You Asked: Why Do My Boobs Hurt?","caption":"You Asked: Why Do My Boobs Hurt?","creditText":"Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3765799/breast-pain/","name":"Breast Pain: Why Do My Boobs Hurt?"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Should I Eat Potatoes?","description":"Should you eat potatoes? 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