Mastodynia is a functional state of the mammary glands, characterized by their soreness..

In some cases, this indicates the initial stage of the onset of another, more serious and complex breast disease - mastopathy..

Most often, this disease occurs in fairly young women aged 20-35 years - in nulliparous or having had one birth, having an irregular sex life, having gynecological diseases.

It happens that mastodynia appears not as a symptom of mastopathy, but as an integral part of the premenstrual tension syndrome (SPS). Another feature of this condition is that in most cases, a woman who turns to a mammologist with symptoms of mastodynia has sciatica or osteochondrosis of the cervicothoracic spine with symptoms of intercostal neuralgia..

Mastodynia can be:.

- true,.

- false.

True mastodynia is caused by a wide variety of changes in the endocrine system or diseases of the mammary gland..

False mastodynia is not associated with pathological and functional processes in the mammary gland.

Every year more and more women seek help for mastodynia.. In most cases, mastodynia occurs, caused by disorders not of the mammary gland itself or systems associated with it..

False mastodynia can be caused by the phenomena of intercostal neuralgia, after viral infections, colds, hypothermia, physical overload, with prolonged work on the computer, changes in the cervicothoracic spine with osteochondrosis, curvature, the consequences of injuries, after a difficult pregnancy and a long period of breastfeeding.. This causes gross changes in the systems of microelement and calcium metabolism..

Sometimes mastodynia is a symptom of incipient mastopathy, but more often it turns out to be just one of the possible signs of premenstrual tension syndrome, or PTS..

Diagnosis of mastodynia.

When diagnosing, it is very important to distinguish this disease from pathologies of the gallbladder and coronary heart disease, the symptoms of which are very similar..

Most women who visit a mammologist seek advice on breast pain. Often a woman experiences pain that is localized at the base of the gland (the place of the chest wall to which it is “attached”) and radiates to the axillary region, shoulder region, shoulder blade region, neck and collarbone.

Particularly different in terms of pain are the inner lateral surfaces of the gland and the upper part.. Pain occurs out of touch with the menstrual cycle, occurs spontaneously, more often after various provoking moments - physical exertion, hypothermia or overheating, colds or other inflammatory diseases.

Pain is aggravated by movement, at night during sleep, when touching the mammary gland, when wearing a bra. The period of pain, as a rule, is short, the pains periodically subside or disappear altogether, then they can also spontaneously resume with the same intensity or acquire an already aching character..

Very often, the existing disorders in the mammary glands (for example, mastopathy, its manifestations) do not correspond to the level of pain syndrome that occurs due to mastodynia. In all these cases, after examining a mammologist, performing mandatory screening studies of the mammary gland, the patient is referred for treatment to a neuropathologist or osteopath.

If a woman’s breasts are large and she hangs down a lot, then the ligamentous apparatus of the mammary glands is strained. This causes irritation of the intercostal nerves at the point of their entry into the glands, and thus a rather specific pain occurs.. Usually the pain comes from the spine - it is the intercostal nerves that are infringed, the nerves in the cervical and thoracic plexus are infringed, and the pain is given to the mammary gland. In this case, you will need the help of an osteopath and a neuropathologist..

Since almost every woman also has changes in the structure of the mammary glands - fibroadenomatosis. In the vast majority of cases, this is a physiological reaction to an increased content of estrogens that accumulate in the breast tissue with each cycle, which leads to various transformations of glandular tissues..

A distinction should be drawn between pain caused by fibroadenomatosis and other pain..

Pain can be caused by osteochondrosis, calcium and microelement depletion of the body. Sometimes it happens that the development of pain syndrome is strictly dependent on the menstrual cycle, accompanied by a feeling of engorgement of the mammary glands, an increase in their volume in the second half before menstruation, more often 7-10 days before the onset of menstruation..

In these cases, we are dealing with manifestations of premenstrual tension syndrome.. Premenstrual tension syndrome and mastodynia are very similar in essence, in state, in origin. However, they must be separated, because SPN means a condition of breast engorgement before menstruation..

In principle, it exists in almost every woman.. In 80% of women, premenstrual tension syndrome is quite tolerable, and it does not cause much discomfort.. The glands increase somewhat in volume, the woman feels heaviness in them, as fluid accumulates, the ligamentous apparatus of the mammary glands tenses, sensitivity increases (especially in the area of \u200b\u200bthe nipple and areola due to swelling that occurs in the inner region of the nerve endings and, as it were, is an additional irritant,.

And when unpleasant sensations overcome the limit of tolerance, they move into the category of pain, significant discomfort.. In this case, SPN and mastodynia seem to merge together. Mastodynia acquires the classic fifth variant, and in the clinical picture of the woman's condition, a significant pain syndrome is stated, which creates physical and psycho-emotional discomfort. Therefore, pain in the mammary gland is always associated with something bad and dangerous, in particular with breast cancer..

The development of this syndrome reflects a number of functional disorders in the neuropsychic state of the patient, disorders in the endocrine system, pathological changes in the tissues of the gland itself.

It is a syndrome of premenstrual tension due to a violation in the work of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, that is, the regulatory relationship between the central and peripheral glands of the endocrine system.

In addition, premenstrual tension syndrome can also occur due to other reasons:.

- increased adrenal function;

- as a result of a decrease in the activity of follicular hormones against the background of insufficiency of hormones of the corpus luteum of the ovaries;

- with an increase in the level of prolactin, especially in the second half of the menstrual cycle,.

- hypofunction of the thyroid gland.

Very characteristic and specific changes in the internal environment of the body during the formation of premenstrual tension syndrome are violations of the water and electrolyte balance with an increase in the content of chlorides and a decrease in the concentration of potassium. This eventually leads to internal tissue edema, especially in the breast tissue..

Treatment of mastodynia.

The complex of therapeutic agents should include drugs that normalize the relationship in the pituitary-hypothalamic zone, prolactin-lowering drugs, dehydrating drugs and drugs that improve metabolism in breast tissues (estrogen-regulating vitamins, antioxidants).

In the second half of the menstrual cycle, Novopassit, Morozov's drops, Mastodinone and Remens are usually recommended.; herbal diuretics are useful, and, of course, long-known sedatives, such as valerian, corvalol, valocordin.

It is advisable to use drugs that improve liver function. In recent years, it has been very effective and justified to use monitoring bowel cleansing in the complex of therapeutic measures..

Trofimov medbe. en.