Women found to report much more pain than men

[The Straight Story]

Women found to report much more pain than men

A Stanford study sheds new light on the old cliche about women having a higher tolerance for pain than men - according to tens of thousands of electronic patient records, women tend to report much more severe pain than men, no matter the source of the pain.

The study being released today found that when asked to rate their pain on a scale of 0 to 10 - with 0 being no pain at all, and 10 being the worst pain imaginable - women on average scored their pain 20 percent more intense than men.

The results held up across a wide variety of diseases and injuries, including back and neck pain, digestive disorders, sinus infections, and even ankle strains and sprains. In almost every category researchers looked at, women reported more pain than men.

"We may have to adjust our thinking about how men and women report their pain. The killer question is: Do women actually feel more pain than men?" said Dr. Atul Butte, lead author of the study, which was published in the Journal of Pain. "That may be more philosophy than anything - how can we tell that for sure?"

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2012/01/23/MN681MSBB6.DTL

[dana_b]

1. alternate question:

Do men under report or downplay their pain?

[The Straight Story]

3. Tis but a fleshwound

[dana_b]

8. lol

[obamanut2012]

19. That was my first thought

[zbdent]

2. Let me qualify my response of "Duh!" ...

As a child, men (boys) are told to "suck it up" or "be a man" or "take it like a man" and "boys don't cry" when they're hurt.

So when they're hurt, they're likely to be more harassed, or "sissified" if they complain.

(and, yes, women will put up with childbirth ... you folks can have that ... but how many times are you called upon to go through with that?)

So, "reporting" the intensity/severity of pain, let alone reporting the pain, somewhat goes against the cultural grain for guys.

Donning my asbestos "magic underpants" ...

[bhikkhu]

4. Yep - probably enough gender-specific training to account for 20 percent of variation

which then leaves us (as is the case with so many other things) with much larger and more significant variations between individuals than between groups.

[Ecumenist]

7. Experiencing something that feels like you've pulled your bottom lip over your head, while

pushing a Mack truck out your nether parts, is something that you never forget, I don't care what people say. So, until you have a chance to undergo, trust me, most men's hearts would burst. I didn't deliver a full term baby and I ALMOST died. Asbestos isn't enough to shield you, I'm afraid.

[Jennicut]

12. It is very, very true.

Women and girls will vocalize more what they feel but men and boys have been conditioned to not let anyone know their feelings. Kind of sad in a way. Sometimes I get frustrated with father, brother and husband when they don't let it be known that they are really in pain physically or emotionally but then I realize that they are just doing what society expects them to do. I went through childbirth twice and I totally let the nurses and doctor know when I reached my threshold of pain and they gave me stadol (great for numbing pain during labor). My husband hurts his back and doesn't say a thing until he can barely walk.

[zbdent]

14. part of the reason why I think that women don't really realize that

when their husbands "get the sniffles, they turn into total basket cases", it's probably far more advanced than that, and they've finally given up.

My father was doubled over in pain in the bathroom, blocking the door, refusing to go to the doctor. I was glad my mother finally bullied him into going ... his appendix had burst.

[redqueen]

13. Why would you be flamed for this?

It seems very logical.

[zbdent]

15. the part about the birthing ... (see #7)

of course ...

I did point out to Mrs. ZBDent that, if men were designed to give birth to babies, then they'd be women ... (yes, overly simplistic ...)

[redqueen]

16. But it's just a factual statement...

childbirth happens more often for some women, but for most it's not a regular event.

I think we should encourage patients to report pain. Opiaphobia has caused a lot of damage, by convincing physicians and patients that tolerating pain is somehow a good thing. It's not, though, because can cause an increase in stress hormones.

[Ecumenist]

5. I think women are more likely to talk about what they're feeling physically, wheras men, "man up and

take it", so to speak. I don't think women feel more pain, it's just that we're socialised differently.

[Liberal Veteran]

6. They obviously haven't met my husband.

Trying to pull a splinter out of his finger without general anesthesia is like trying to bathe a feral cat.

[Ecumenist]

11. Girl, tell me about it. when Baby gets the flu, you would swear he had the Black Plague ...

the near crying I have to listen to...."my head hurts, can you rub it?' "Can you help me eat my soup, my body hurts too much to lift the spoon". Let's not mention that I have the same flu...

[MuseRider]

17. LOL

My husband hurt his back years ago. He is a notorious baby, he even admits to this. He laid around in the living room and swore he could not even get up to go to the bathroom so I fashioned him a urinal. I still had two little boys at home to take care of so I was pretty busy already. Every time I was out of the room and not paying attention to him he would start to moan, you know the drill. At one point when I was cooking dinner and taking care of the boys he started in and then started really loudly moaning, "What's to become of meeeeeee?" I had had it after 4 days of this and I answered his question. I told him if he kept this up what was to become of him was I was going to hold his pillow over his face until he stopped moaning. Of course I would never have done that, he knew it but it did stop him. After that I would just mention cancer, blindness, MS, congestive heart failure etc. and he stopped totally and got up finally. He does not whine as much as he used to. Big baby, he had nannies to care for his every need when growing up so I am certain his every boo boo was treated like a major injury.

I do not whine but I do complain when my RA is flared up. Yup, I report that pain. Men should report their pain. Whining is being a baby, reporting pain is just what you need to do when discussing treatment. There was no good done to men who were told to man up. There is no good done to men or women who are babied when they whine, it is not productive and you never know who is around the corner with a pillow.

[Ecumenist]

21. Exactly! I think that not reporting pain is the major reason why women, GENERALLY out live men.

I hope that you taught your boys that it's okay to tell someone when they become ill or something is wrong physically. I know what you're talking about re: RA, it's no joke, especially now that it's cold. I also have Cancer and my husband always marvels at the fact that I can still function. Life goes on.

[Missy Vixen]

25. Thank you

My husband ended up in the emergency room last month for a painful (but not fatal,) infection. When the nurse asked him what his pain level was (1-10,) Mr. Missy Vixen promptly said, "Ten."

The nurse (another guy,) smiled and said, "So, are you in childbirth or having a heart attack?" My husband readjusted his number after being told he would not get pain medication as a result of exaggeration. I almost asked the nurse to marry me.

I love my husband, but I have had enough of the near-death experiences of colds, flu, etcetera.

[Chuuku Davis]

9. My wife is much tougher than me

[frazzled]

10. When the men go through childbirth and report their level of pain

I'll take this seriously.

[Wind Dancer]

18. Ditto!

[pinboy3niner]

20. Women seem to be BETTER at sucking it up to function...UNTIL they see the doctor

With the doctor, they are honest.

I think we men are the wusses in dealing with pain. Really.

[chrisa]

22. It's not really about a "tolerance for pain."

Men are just afraid say that they're in pain because our culture tells them to be tough and stoic. They may also erroneously believe that saying they are in pain is whining or not manly.

"We may have to adjust our thinking about how men and women report their pain. The killer question is: Do women actually feel more pain than men?" said Dr. Atul Butte

Why not just go with the more likely scenario, like I said above? Even if they are alone, filling out a form and are completely unlikely to be judged, men will still report less pain because it's culturally ingrained in their head.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

23. Mythbusters covered this --

They conducted a simple test -- men and women submerged their arms in ice water until they couldn't take the pain anymore. Women held their arms under longer, every time.

Looks like they may have a reporting difference between the sexes.

[Thirtieschild]

24. Our response is in our DNA. And upbringing

I've always thought I had low pain sensitivity - gave birth quickly and with very little pain, needed pain pills for just 36 hours after an abdominal hysterectomy - and my DNA confirmed it, put me in the lowest bracket for pain sensitivity. However, when I hurt I tell you I'm hurting.

Mr. Thirties appears to have an even lower sensitivity to pain, even though his DNA says he's more sensitive than I am. He admits that a lot of his reaction comes from his determination not to show it.

[redqueen]

26. Related: Man flu is real!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110927192352.htm

[pinboy3niner]

27. So we may have to rethink the conventional wisdom about "the weaker sex"?

[redqueen]

31. At least when the context is the immune system,

science seems to have determined women to be the stronger sex.

[Demeter]

28. Some women, yes

I have known some horrible whiners. They have never done any significant physical labor in their lives, including childbirth.

On the other hand, I have known stoic, capable women, who know good pain from bad, fixable from unfixable, and temporary from permanent. They make good mothers.

And then there are those that deny their bodies rest, care, and treatment, but suffer silently, needlessly. They have mental problems. They want to be martyrs.

But then, I've known men in all three categories, too.

[riverwalker]

29. Every nurse I know

would dispute this questionable "Stanford study". Every one.
Every. One.
Just sayin'

[Odin2005]

30. We guys repress out pain? NO SHIT, Sherlock!!!

They needed a study for this?

[Iggo]

32. And they live longer, too.

Maybe it's because they speak up.