Breast Pain and Tenderness

Make Fitness More Comfortable

It's a very common complaint of modern, fit women: Bra straps that chafe and slide at the gym or during running workouts. One athlete­savvy solution is to switch to a T-strap style of sports bra, which tends to be more comfortable than it may appear to someone who has never tried one. A second solution (for those who don't need a lot of support) might be to wear one tight cotton sport top over another, as some top athletes and dancers do.

Slippery Solution to Nipple Irritation

For women who suffer repeated bouts of nipple irritation during workouts or other sporting activities, sex may be about the last thing on their minds. But it shouldn't be. One way to ease or end the irritation is to use a sexual lubricant, like AstroGlide or Body Glide, on the inside of your sports bra. And make sure your sports bras have seamless cups!

Herbal Salves

During pregnancy and after giving birth nipples can become very sore, dry and even cracked. Herbalists suggest these soothing natural remedies for their moisturizing and cell-renewing benefits: Comfrey root ointment burdock salve, vitamin E oil and aloe vera gel: All can be found in health food stores. Use according to package instructions; however, ask your doctor about using these remedies while breast-feeding, as they may pose a danger if your baby ingests them.

Midwives' Parsley Remedy

Though there are many causes of breast pain and tenderness, sometimes bloating and water retention are responsible, spurred on by a number of hormone changes. To combat this naturally, try chewing chopped, fresh parsley at least twice a day.

One of the properties not widely known about parsley is that it is a diuretic. It helps flush excess liquid out of your breasts and the rest of your body. Nurse-midwives may be more supportive of this treatment than MDs are, but that shouldn't keep you from trying it.

A Fragrant Massage

This treatment is especially good for large­ breasted women who wear restrictive bras. Perform a self-massage on breasts, using a mild concentration of rosemary, bay laurel or basil essential oils in a carrier oil. These oils will help stimulate local circulation and move blood out of the area.

Note: This type of massage is also effective on swollen lymph nodes in the neck or groin.

Lymph Massage for Tender Breasts

Drawing out liquids (away from the breasts) and increasing circulation can reduce tenderness. While you conduct your monthly breast self-exam for lumps, give yourself a lymphatic drainage massage.

Apply a 1% essential-oil mixture, using a few drops of cypress or juniper oil (both diuretics) in a carrier oil. With your thumbs in your underarms, cup breasts with your palms and rub slowly, toward the heart.

Fibrocystic (Lumpy) Breasts

Naturopathic, Dietary Treatment to Help

Although fibrocystic, or lumpy, breasts are said to occur in more than three-fourths of all premenopausal women, they still cause pain, tenderness and alarm to varying degrees in many of the women who have the condition. Sometimes the lumps, or cysts, are so small and short-lived that they can't be felt at all. Often they are noticeable just before the onset of a woman's menstrual period.

Dietary changes can serve as a remedy, including:

• Cutting caffeine intake considerably.
• Lowering the intake of carbohydrates and refined sugar.
• Increasing the intake of vegetables and other fibrous foods.
• Taking (packaged) herbal supplements of dong quai, Vitex or sarsaparilla. The herbal preparations may be mixed or taken alone, on the advice of a health practitioner.

Oils Can Make a Lasting Difference

In addition to dietary changes (see above listing), women can help ease the formation and effects of breast cysts by taking packaged omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid supplements (or consuming plenty of salmon or tuna). You might also consider flaxseed or black currant oils, both of which can help decrease the inflammatory process and help the liver in cleansing the system. The oils can be found in herb shops. Follow package directions.

Vitamin E Eases Painful Problem

Vitamin E has been shown to be beneficial for some women who have fibrocystic breasts. Between 400 and 600 international units (IU) of vitamin E taken orally every day may help to reduce the pain associated with these recurring cysts and lumps. However, see your doctor before you begin vitamin E therapy to discuss the safety of vitamin E and to be sure that these lumps are fibrocystic and not related to another condition.

A Diet for Pain-Free Breasts

High doses of a selection of vitamins may reduce the pain and symptoms of fibrocystic breasts. What's the secret combination? After confirming this treatment with your doctor, take the following daily:

• 25,000 international units (IU) beta-carotene
• 150 micrograms iodine
• 600 IU vitamin E
• 100 milligrams (mg) B6

But there are several caveats: There is no iodine supplement on the market. Iodine suitable for ingestion is different from the solution you might find on drugstore shelves. You must get iodine from foods like fish.

And don't take the 100 mg of B6 all at once because it can be very harsh on your system. Instead, divide the amount into two or three doses over the course of the day.

Root Out the Problem

Poke root can be an effective treatment for lumpy, fibrocystic breasts. The cysts are usually harmless but can be frightening to women because the cysts can feel hard to the touch and because they often recur every month. (Some gynecologists hope to do away with the term "fibrocystic" because they think it sounds too technical and scary.)

A solution is to use a tincture of poke root: Add one-fourth to one-half ounce of warm tincture to a flannel cloth or soft hand towel, then place it on the breast overnight (or for at least four hours). Check with your herb shop about availability of poke root and tincture.