Eliminate Back and Neck Pain With a Breast Reduction

Undergoing surgery is a big decision, especially when it involves your breasts. However, living with large breasts can put a lot of strain on your back and neck muscles, and even worsen pain from other conditions, like spine injuries.

Our team at Meridian Plastic Surgery in Mississippi understands how disproportionately large breasts can take an emotional and physical toll. If you struggle with pain because of your breast size, here’s how breast surgery can help.

Your breasts and your body

Having large breasts may seem like a blessing. But there’s a direct connection between having large breasts and developing upper back and neck pain. In fact, research shows that the larger the cup size, the more likely the chances of shoulder, back, or neck problems.

Having large breasts increases the amount of weight on your chest. To gain a little perspective, D-cup breasts can weigh 16-24 pounds. Your back is an incredibly strong structure, but this extra weight naturally causes you to lean forward because of gravity. In response, the muscles and ligaments in your back and neck have to work harder to keep your spine upright. 

Over the course of one day, this can put a significant amount of stress on your back and neck. And this burden strain only creases with time, leading to a variety of problems, such as:

• Muscle strain and spasming
• Constant headaches
• Poor posture 
• Physical changes from bra straps
• Spinal deformity or injury

Having large breasts can also impact self-confidence and cause some women to hunch forward as they try to hide their chest. Unfortunately, this can worsen existing back pain.

How breast reduction can help

First, it’s important to note that surgery isn’t the only way to relieve back and neck pain when you have large breasts. Some women find relief by making lifestyle changes like losing weight, working with the physical therapist, or trying customized bras to help support and distribute breast weight. However, breast reduction surgery is the only way to resolve this problem permanently.

During this procedure, we remove extra tissue and skin to resize your breasts. Our techniques vary, depending on your breasts and overall goals, but often involve making an incision around your areola — the darkened skin surrounding your nipple. This incision continues down to the underside of your breast. 

Most breast reduction procedures do not impact the nipple and areola, which helps preserve sensation and blood supply. But, sometimes, we remove and reposition them after reshaping your breast.

After your surgery, we wrap your breasts in bandaging. You could need drainage tubes to help with swelling, and you have to follow your post-op care instructions closely.

What to expect from breast reduction surgery

You can usually go home the same day as your procedure. However, you should take it easy and avoid any movements that can cause muscle strain for several weeks.

It’s common to experience pain and tenderness after having breast reduction, but we can help manage these symptoms with medications. In most cases, you can resume light activity in approximately two weeks. Recovering from breast reduction completely usually takes between 8-12 weeks.

If you have pain because of your breast size, we can help. Contact our office in Meridian, Mississippi, by calling 601-693-7742 or book a breast surgery consultation online today.