Randomised trial, 2002
What treatments work best for cyclical breast pain?
Initial treatments like reassurance, proper bra fit, reducing caffeine, and primrose oil should be tried first. Medications like danazol work but often cause side effects.
What they did
Literature review. Researchers searched medical databases from 1975 to 2001 for studies about the causes, evaluation, and treatment of breast pain in women.
What they found
Research has not found a clear hormonal or physical reason for cyclical breast pain. Some studies found links between breast pain and PMS, fibrocystic breast disease, and caffeine intake. Simple non-drug treatments helped many women.
What it means for you
This review summarizes existing research and shows that breast pain's causes remain unclear. The main limitation is that past studies had varying quality. High-quality studies comparing treatments are needed.
1975-2001
years of literature reviewed
3
medical databases searched
About the study
- Original title
- Benign breast pain in women: a practical approach to evaluation and treatment
- Authors
- Norlock FE
- Journal
- Journal of the American Medical Women's Association (1972)
- Year
- 2002
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- What was tested
- Various treatments including reassurance, bra fitting, caffeine reduction, primrose oil, and medications
- Read the paper
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11991427/
Topics
Related studies
Review, 2003
What treatments work best for PMS and PMDD?
Review, 2005
What causes breast pain and how is it treated?
Systematic review, 2007
What treatments work for premenstrual syndrome?
Randomised trial, 2003
What treatments work for PMS and PMDD?
Review, 2001
What are PMS and PMDD, and how are they treated?
Randomised trial, 2017
Does yoga help with PMS symptoms?