What Are the Common Causes of Chest Swelling?

Breast tenderness (distending pain in breast) can be seen in physiology and pathology. Common physiological breast tenderness are: adolescent tenderness, premenstrual tenderness, tenderness during pregnancy, postpartum and post-abortion tenderness, but most Physical breast tenderness is associated with emotional stress. If breast tenderness persists or even gets worse, or when you touch the breast and find a mass with irregular shape, unclear edges, and poor mobility, you should go to the hospital for examination and treatment as soon as possible.

Basic Information

English name: breast distending pain
Visiting department: Breast surgery
Multiple groups: Young women

Common locations: breast
Common causes: The pathology is hyperplasia of breast, mastitis, breast cancer; physiology is adolescence, premenstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, post-abortion, etc.

Causes of breast tenderness and common diseases

Pathological

(1) Hyperplasia of mammary glands: The main cause of its onset is the disorder of endocrine hormones. And breast tissue is very sensitive to hormone response, breast tenderness is often the first symptom of patients with breast hyperplasia. Hyperplasia of the breast can be accompanied by breast lump, menstrual disorders (delayed, low volume, pale color), nipple discharge, emotional changes (poor temper, upset, irritability, nervousness) and so on. Therefore, normal breast tenderness should be distinguished from hyperplasia of the breast to avoid delay in treatment.

(2) Mastitis: Mastitis is divided into lactating mastitis and non-lactating mastitis. Common acute mastitis mostly occurs in lactating women, especially primiparous women. It is an acute breast inflammation caused by bacterial infection during lactation. The typical symptoms are redness, swelling, heat and pain. There may be chills, fever, burnout, and poor appetite. If a breast abscess is formed, the liquid level can be seen by ultrasound, and the pus can be extracted by puncture.

(3) Breast cancer: Breast cancer mostly occurs in women between the ages of 40 and 60, and the incidence is higher in women before and after menopause. Early-stage breast cancer is often painless, and painful breast cancer is often indicated as advanced. Studies have shown that breast cancer detection will increase in postmenopausal women with breast pain and glandular thickening. Of course, when the tumor is accompanied by inflammation, it can also have tenderness or tenderness. If advanced tumors invade nerves or axillary lymph nodes and compress or invade brachial plexus nerves, they may have shoulder pain. Breast cancer is also accompanied by breast masses, nipple discharge, nipple changes, skin changes, and axillary lymphadenopathy.

2. Physiological

(1) Adolescent breast tenderness: Adolescent mammary glands develop first with nipple bulges, and breast tissues under the nipples have large sclera-like indurations from peas to broad beans with slight tenderness. After menarche, it will go away as the breasts mature.

(2) Premenstrual breast tenderness: more than half of women have breast fullness, stiffness, and tenderness before menstrual cramps; in severe cases, breasts can be uncomfortable due to slight vibration or collision, and the original granular or nodular It is more obvious that it can be relieved after menstruation.

(3) breast tenderness during pregnancy: Some women have breast hyperplasia and enlarged breasts around 40 days after pregnancy, which causes breast tenderness. The severe cases can last the entire pregnancy.

(4) Postpartum breast tenderness: Double breast fullness, sclerosis, and pain often occur 3 to 7 days postpartum.

(5) Breast pain after induced abortion: After induced abortion, some women complain of breast pain and can touch the lump.

(6) breast tenderness after sexual life: breast congestion, swelling is not easy to subside, or incomplete subsidence, breast tenderness.

Differential diagnosis of breast tenderness

Clinically, it is distinguished from chest pain. Patients with chest pain Inflammation of the chest wall shows redness, swelling, heat, and pain in the affected area. Shingles presents most small blister groups, which are distributed along the nerves and do not cross the midline, with obvious pain. During epidemic myalgia, severe chest and abdominal muscle pain may occur, and it may be radiated to the shoulder and neck. Non-purulent osteochondritis mostly invades the first and second costal cartilage. The affected area is swollen and painful, but the skin is usually not red and swollen. Pain in angina pectoris and acute myocardial infarction is often located behind the sternum or in the front of the heart. Others: Pain in esophageal disorders, diaphragmatic hernias, and mediastinal tumors is also located behind the sternum. Spontaneous pneumothorax, acute pleurisy, and pulmonary infarction often present severe chest pain on the affected side. The nature of chest pain is different from breast tenderness: intercostal neuralgia is paroxysmal burning or tingling. Myalgia is often sore. Bone pain was sore or conical. Esophagitis and diaphragmatic hernia often show burning or burning sensation. Angina pectoris is often crushing and can be accompanied by suffocation. When the aortic aneurysm erodes the chest wall, it shows awl pain. Primary lung cancer, mediastinal tumors may have chest pain.