The “Other” Breast Pain

Most, if not all women have some type of breast pain, especially during the time of the month when hormones surge prior to menses. However, I’m here to talk about a different type of breast pain.

Mine started several years after an auto accident had left me with permanent muscle damage in my upper body. I was in constant neck and shoulder pain. Then I started noticing pain shooting from my ribcage into my right breast. It was sharp, and it seemed to go straight into my breast. My grandmother died of breast cancer when I was a little girl and with a family history of breast cancer the odds are elevated in my case for the same type of cancer to be passed on to other family members. Was I the one that was going to carry on the legacy? Needless to say, I was frightened.

I did as all women do with this sort of problem and got a mammogram. The test results noted “microcalcifications in the lateral side of the right breast.” Being a student of clinical laboratory science at the time, I was able to decipher the terms to mean microscopic calcium deposits. “So what,” I thought. But the doctor was insistent that I get a biopsy since I had a family history of cancer. And being the stubborn type, I went to an herbalist friend and asked for something that would remove calcium deposits. She gave me a tincture that seemed to do the trick. The pain disappeared and I felt I had solved the problem, but did I?

Several months later the pain returned and once more I was even more frightened than the first time. I didn’t listen to the doctor, maybe he was right. Maybe the legacy was passed on to me! Now what! I returned to the doctor only to be yelled at for trying “alternative” measures and intimidated into getting a biopsy. The day of the surgery was terrifying! I had to go alone since my family lived in another city and couldn’t be with me. Here I was, 37 years old with the potential of having breast cancer and no one to be there to support me in this most traumatic time in my life. When I arrived for surgery, they had scheduled another mammogram. The technician took more than the usual amount of pictures. I thought, “it’s either really good or really bad.”

Sitting in the waiting room was horrible! I tried not to worry, but couldn’t help it! What if I have cancer? Where do I go from here? Thoughts kept shooting through my head of what may happen and what the results would be. Finally, the radiologist came out and called my name. He asked me what I was in there for and I told him that I was diagnosed with microcalcifications (microscopic calcium deposits) on the outside of my right breast. To that he told me that there was nothing there and the surgery was canceled. I felt the weight of the world fall off my shoulders. What a relief!

The pain kept coming back though, sometimes with a vengeance! I guess I have to live with it, I thought.

I finished my studies in laboratory science and went to work in a toxicology lab at a local hospital where I met Stanley*. He was a massage therapist that worked in the physical therapy department. He noticed my neck and shoulder stiffness from my injuries and encouraged me to consider massage as a method for pain relief.

I started letting Stanley work on me and the results were wonderful. My neck and shoulders felt so much better. It had been 8 years since the auto accident and it was a welcomed relief to not have so much pain. After some time Stanley started showing me the mechanics of muscles. He told me that muscles in the front of my body that were pulling my shoulders forward caused my neck and shoulder pain. These were the pectoralis muscles and the serratus anterior muscles located under and around my breast tissue. They were rounding my shoulders thus causing pain in the neck and shoulders by pulling them forward. He asked permission to work these muscles on the front of my body. I must admit at the time I was concerned of his motive. He was, of course, a “man” and I was in a vulnerable position. However, I soon learned that his intent was to help me feel better, that his training was to work injured/tightened muscles to relieve pain and nothing more. What a relief to find a professional that is truly interested in my feeling better!

By working these muscles, my pain would decrease further and I was able to stand straighter than I had in many years. The pain in my right ribcage that radiated into my breast was identified when Stanley worked my serratus anterior[1]muscles. The serratus anterior is one of the muscles of the shoulder girdle and pulls the shoulder blade forward when reaching. It can become contracted/tightened with over use like driving, office work and computers as well as trauma such as an auto accident. Mine had been in a static condition for a long time and when he massaged it, I felt much better. It also helped reduce the pain in between my shoulder blades!

Next came the pectoralis muscles[2]. The breast sits atop them making it difficult to work them without contact with the peripheral breast tissue. Nonetheless, I saw it as a necessary task to relieve rounded shoulders, neck, shoulder and midback pain. As he worked near my sternum and around my breast tissue, I could feel the shoulders relaxing and the pain in my neck and shoulders decreasing as the pectoralis muscles were being released.

“What a difference!” I thought as I got off the table. “I’ve been in pain for 8 years because of ignorance?” “Why hadn’t other medical professionals referred me to this type of therapy sooner?” “Don’t they know about this?” “ Why are they not sending more female patients to see a massage therapists for relief of neck, shoulder and back pain?” I thought. Now as a fellow therapist with Stanely, I am very conscious of my patients’ pain and the mechanics of their body. I, too, work these muscles, so they can have pain relief and become more aware of their body mechanics (posture) in an effort to correct and possibly eliminating the pain.

One thing I have learned from my experience with pain is to address it as soon as possible. Pain is the warning signal in your body alerting you of danger! It isn’t something to be ignored. Ask questions and keep seeking those answers until you get results! Don’t take one persons word especially if you “feel” there is another reason or answer to the cause of your pain. I have since learned to listen to my body and to seek out those that know the body on many levels not just allopathically.

The world of alternative medicine is expanding and joining forces with conventional medicine. Together, these forces are working to aid patients to heal on levels never before imagined. Find out for yourself what massage therapy can and will do for you. See it aid you to a better quality of life through pain relief and self-awareness.

* Names have been changed.

[1] Paul St. John Trigger Point Chart

[2] Paul St. John Trigger Point Chart

REVISED 01/07

Bra and Breast Cancer

Bras and Breast Cancer by Ralph L. Reed, Ph.D.

Although I am an environmental chemist (Ph.D in biochemistry), I have been doing a lot of literature research on breast cancer since I saw an article on the National Library of Medicine database over a year ago. That article documented an increase in breast cancer rates between women who do wear bras versus those who do not. That Harvard study fascinated me, and I searched the medical literature for possible explanations.

In January 1996, I discovered the book by Singer and Grismaijer and their explanation of impaired lymphatic flow intrigued me. I have since read everything that I can find on lymphatic flow. What I have found has amazed me, but that is another story. I can supply you with lots of information if you like. In essence, what Singer and Grismaijer found was that the odds of getting breast cancer dramatically increased with bra-wearing over 12 hours per day.

• Women who wore their bras 24 hours per day had a 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer (in their study, n=2056 for the cancer group and n=2674 for the standard group).
• Women who wore bras more than 12 hours per day but not to bed had a 1 out of 7 risk.
• Women who wore their bras less than 12 hours per day had a 1 out of 152 risk.
• Women who wore bras rarely or never had a 1 out of 168 chance of getting breast cancer.
• The overall difference between 24-hour wearing and not at all was a 125-fold difference.

The results of this study are compelling, even considering that it was not a “controlled study” for other risk factors. Bear in mind that known (published in medical journals) risk factors for breast cancer are mostly in the range of less than three-fold differences. It should also be noted that Singer and Grismaijer surveyed bra-wearing behavior of the past, which is excellent for a disease with such a long development period.

In their book, the authors show how most of the known risk factors can be related to bra-wearing behavior and/or the lymphatic system. For example, breast feeding and pregnancy cause full development of the mammary lymphatics. Also, women of higher economic status have higher breast cancer rates, and one would expect that they would wear their bras more hours per day. Women who exercise have lower risk, which could relate to better lymphatic circulation (and I would add, more breast movement). To this discussion, I would like to add that lymphatic circulation in many tissues (especially the primary lymphatics) are highly dependent on MOVEMENT.

When you sit for a long time on an airplane flight, your feet and ankles can swell, because lymphatic circulation goes to near zero. Wearing a bra, especially a constricting one with under wires, and especially to bed, prevents normal lymphatic flow and would likely lead to anoxia (lower than normal oxygen content), which has been related to fibrosis, which has been linked to increased cancer risk.

Women evolved under conditions where there was BREAST MOVEMENT with every step that they took when they walked or ran. My reading of the scientific literature about lymphatic flow shows me that this may be as important as the constriction factor. Every subtle bounce of the breast while moving, walking, running, etc., gently massages the breast and increases lymphatic flow and thus cleans the breast of toxins and wastes that arise from cellular metabolism.

Of course, there may be other mechanisms for the damage that bras apparently cause. One such mechanism could be temperature. Breasts are external organs and have a naturally lower temperature. Cancers can be temperature-dependent. Breast cancer is hormone-dependent. Temperature can alter hormone function. Breast temperature changes throughout the monthly cycle.

All these facts are from the medical literature. By whatever mechanism, someone will eventually explain why Singer and Grismaijer found a 125-fold difference in cancer rates between bra-free breasts and those constricted by 24-hour-per-day bra-wearing. If you haven’t already done so, I suggest that you read the book by Singer and Grismaijer. (By the way, I have no connection to the authors; I think that they live in Canada.)

Also, just for an interesting experiment, the next time you walk down the street, notice visually how constricting bras are! On many women you can actually see “dents” around the sides of their chests where their bras are, even in something as opaque as a black t-shirt.

A physical therapist friend of mine, after reading Dressed to Kill, said that she was amazed at what she saw in her practice at a local medical clinic. She noticed how many women have red creases and grooves on the their bodies caused by their bras. Singer and Grismajer also suggest that you simply stop wearing one for two weeks and see how you feel.

By the way, I have heard that they are currently working on a new study. The research is to study whether benign fibrocystic breast disease can be treated by stopping bra-wearing for eight weeks. That should be very interesting; this time they are involving medical doctors, from what I’ve heard.

Years ago, many people thought that the idea of cigarettes causing lung cancer was funny. Even if further research with highly controlled studies only shows a difference of 5-fold, or even 2-fold, it will be no laughing matter.

This article is re-published with permission from A New U! Healing Arts Center.   The author, Ralph L. Reed, can be contacted at reedr@ucs.orst.edu.

Photos, flickr.com. The photographer of the picture to the right, writes, “Wearing no bra is an expression of my freedom.” The top picture clearly tells us what that photographer thinks about bras.

Editor’s Note; If you’re thinking about getting rid of some of your bras, you must read How to Make a Bra Purse. What a great way to recycle those bras and perhaps put them to better use!

Why Butterflies?

The butterfly represents change and the beauty of becoming the best nature intended.

It doesn’t fear change, nor does it fear the darkness of it’s metamorphic tomb.  It trusts the process set for it and proceeds with an understanding of it’s role in nature. When you think of butterflies, what comes to mind? Beauty, peace, freedom, joy, love and fragility.

As humans, we are constantly changing, although we may be unaware of it. Annually, every cell in our body is replaced. Sometimes due to circumstances beyond our control, change happens to us, as in the case of an auto accident, injury or trauma.   These changes are difficult to adjust to since they happened abruptly.   This leaves us distraught, angry, sad and depressed and often times in alot of pain. Unlike the butterfly, we have the ability to choose our path of change and its outcome.

However, we choose to fear change and resist it to our detriment when we can have the courage of the butterfly and accept our changes as something natural as well as a progressive step towards an improved individual. When we do, we will prosper physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually!