Article by:
Amelia Grant
The female body and mind appear to process pain differently than the male body and mind. For years, women have claimed that if men were responsible for childbirth, the human race would have died out long ago because men couldn't bear the pain.
Contrary to popular belief, studies suggest women have a lower pain threshold and tolerance than men.
This could explain why chronic pain conditions like arthritis and migraine are more common in women, and in some cases, significantly so. For example, Fibromyalgia, a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, and other symptoms, affects seven times as many women as men.
It's unclear why women experience pain more intensely and in more significant numbers than men. It isn't just that women aren't as "tough." Pain is a complex phenomenon that involves physical, psychological, and even cultural factors in how a person responds to it.
Different bodies, different pain
Sex hormones may account for much of the difference in pain perception between men and women.
Estrogen levels, which fluctuate with the menstrual cycle and decline as a woman approaches menopause, have been linked to changes in how a woman perceives pain.
However, the relationship appears to be complicated. Some studies have found that women are more sensitive to pain when estrogen levels are low, while others have found the exact opposite. It's still unclear whether estrogen makes the pain worse or better.
Psychological factors are also likely to contribute to gender differences in pain. For example, women, more than men, tend to consider the long-term consequences of pain rather than the immediate physical sensation.
Other medical conditions, particularly depression, may amplify the emotional response to pain. Women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with depression, which is linked to chronic pain conditions.
How women cope
Coping strategies for chronic pain differ between the sexes as well. These distinctions may be significant because how a person copes with pain can influence how much pain they experience.
Women, for example, are more likely than men to seek out friends, family, and other forms of social support to discuss how their pain affects them. While this is generally a good thing, some research suggests that women are more likely to exaggerate their chronic pain and the negative effects it has on their lives.
Women's roles in their families, as well as in society as a whole, can influence how they cope with chronic pain. In some cases, expectations for women's behavior and responsibilities can lead to them downplaying their pain and attempting to fight through it—the inverse of catastrophizing.
Finding the proper pain treatment
Despite the many differences in pain between men and women, treatments are not always gender specific. Women, in particular, are at risk of having their pain misdiagnosed and untreated. In addition, pain medications frequently have different effects—and side effects—in men and women. Pain management specialists NYC working with women must be aware that they have more side effects from medications and work with them differently to find something that will benefit them while having the fewest side effects overall.
Doctors prescribe pain medication based on how a 150-pound man metabolizes the drugs. More clinical trials on women are needed to determine whether age, as well as whether they are pre-, peri-, or post-menopausal, affects how they respond to pain medications.
Non-medical treatments, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, may be especially beneficial for women in many cases. This brief-focused therapy focuses on coping skills and attempts to change pain-related thought patterns (such as catastrophizing) and their impact on a person's quality of life.
Doctors must teach women to be good advocates for themselves when it comes to their pain and how it affects their lives so that they can go to a pain doctor and say, "This is where it hurts; this is what makes it feel better, this is what I can do, and this is what I can't do."