Introduction
When it comes to physical pain tolerance, there is an age-old debate as to whether men or women have a higher threshold. This can appear to be true in some instances; however, gender-based pain tolerance is far from a scientific fact. While gender differences may indeed exist in terms of how people report or interpret their sensations of pain, plenty of evidence suggests that, starting in adolescence and on into adulthood, much more is involved than just sex.
Therefore, the debate about whether men or women are less able to endure physical pain requires a closer look at the available data on this subject.
Gender Differences in Pain Tolerance
The scientific world has long been divided when it comes to the debate regarding gender differences in pain tolerance. While some suggest that men have a higher pain tolerance than women, other argue that gender has no bearing on the ability to withstand pain. In this article, we will explore the research that has been conducted to help us better understand the differences, if any, between genders when it comes to pain tolerance.
Biological Factors
Past research on gender differences in pain tolerance has suggested that women are more sensitive than men to both acute and chronic physical pain. However, researchers believe that these differences may be more strongly influenced by biological factors – in particular, hormones.
The primary female hormone estrogen can play a key role in the perception of pain, as it is believed to improve pain sensations and reduce the threshold for when pain is experienced. In contrast, testosterone – the primary male hormone – can increase muscle strength and lessen sensations of pain.
It appears, then, that gender difference in pain levels can be affected by changes in hormone levels or even by hormones themselves. As such, a woman may experience higher levels of sensitivity when her hormone levels change during certain points in her menstrual cycle. Conclusively, due to the effects of hormones on female and male bodies separately it does appear that women may have a slightly higher level of sensitivity to both acute and chronic physical pain as compared to men.
Psychological Factors
The scientific community is still debating the exact causes of gender differences in pain tolerance. It is likely that both psychological and physiological factors play a role in this phenomenon. Psychological factors are generally thought to be the main contributors to different levels of pain sensitivity across genders.
One psychological factor hypothesized to cause variation between men and women’s pain tolerance is gender roles. Research suggests that men may experience greater pain tolerance due to their cultural expectation to be tough and stoic in the face of discomfort or pain while women may experience more sensitivity due, at least partially, to a lack of such expectation or encouragement to tolerate discomfort or painful experiences.
Differences in cognitive processes between men and women have also been suggested as contributing factors to different levels of pain tolerance across genders. Women appear more likely than men to process information about injuries cognitively, leading some researchers believe that this may make them more aware of physical sensations and cause them to respond with greater intensity than men, resulting difference in perceived pain level between genders.
Another psychological factor that appears capable of producing gender differences in perceived levels of pain involves coping styles; however, results from research examining this potential relation have been mixed with some studies indicating that male cope with painful experiences through distancing strategies while others suggest this type of behavior may be more common among women than men. Consequently, further research is needed before any definitive answer can be provided about how coping styles might impact gender differences in pain tolerance.
Studies Examining Gender and Pain Tolerance
Pain tolerance can depend on a variety of factors, and one of these is gender. Many studies have been conducted over the years to examine gender and pain tolerance, and the results have been varied. Some studies have suggested that gender does not have an effect on pain tolerance, while other studies have found that there are differences in pain tolerance between genders.
In this section, we will explore some of these studies and the results they have yielded:
Study 1
Study 1, “Gender Differences in Pain Tolerance: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Pain Induction Studies,” examined the literature on gender and pain through a meta-analysis. The authors identified 13 studies that covered 11 different experimental pain induction protocols measuring pain sensitivity in adults. The data resulted in an overall effect size for gender of -0.63, indicating that women generally have lower pain tolerance levels than men. This trend was observed uniformly among the different types of painful stimuli (thermal, mechanical, electric, ischemic, etc.) and across all the studies included in the meta-analysis.
However, some caveats came with this result: specifically that there is considerable variability between individual studies, and that differences appear to depend on other factors such as:
- Task complexity
- Emotionality
Study 2
The second study investigating gender and pain tolerance was conducted to understand whether individuals from different culture backgrounds have higher or lower levels of pain tolerance. The study sample consisted of 600 university participants, 300 male and 300 female. The participants were divided into two groups by gender and asked to participate in three separate experiments.
In Experiment 1, the participants accustomed to the experience of pain through electrical stimulation of the index finger on their dominant hand delivered at 0.5mA for 4 seconds. They completed a 2-minute phase of rest between trials for a period of 30 minutes, with 30 trials taken altogether.
In Experiment 2, the participants experienced static thermal stimulation which involved the hand being placed in cold water at 10˚C with maximum immersion time set at one minute. In Experiment 3, they underwent dynamic mechanical stimulation where they were required to press a button as hard as they could on a lever loaded device with a force range between 5-30N/m2 while facing an electric shock that was applied 10 out of 16 times (a single trial required 8 button presses).
Results indicated that males had significantly greater pain thresholds than females during electrical stimulation and static thermal experiment but no significant difference was observed during dynamic mechanical testing. These results suggest that inter-individual differences among men and women influence individual’s responses to pain related stimuli or tasks differently when examined in different types of cultures across different contexts.
Study 3
Study 3 investigated gender differences in pain tolerance by examining patients undergoing a hysterectomy procedure. It included 67 female participants who were separated into two groups: those who had received general anesthesia prior to surgery (results not included in this review), and those who had been given local anesthesia. Pain tolerance scores for both groups were measured using the Mcgill Pain Questionnaire before and immediately after the procedure, as well as 6–12 hours afterward.
The results showed that women who had been given local anesthesia tolerated pain more effectively than those given general anesthesia, suggesting that women are likely to have higher pain tolerance than men. However, there was some evidence that the effects of gender may depend on age group – while post-menopausal women reported greater pain relief following local anesthesia, pre-menopausal women reported a lower level of effectiveness. Further research is needed to better understand how age may impact gender differences in pain tolerance.
Conclusion
Conclusion
In conclusion, gender is a factor in determining pain thresholds and pain tolerance. While there is evidence to suggest that men generally have a higher pain tolerance than women overall, results from research studies vary with the type of pain being tested. Factors such as age, body composition, and hormones can play a role in determining one’s level of sensitivity to different types of pain. Therefore, it is difficult to draw hard-and-fast conclusions about which gender has the highest pain threshold or tolerance. However, further research into this area could prove valuable for healthcare professionals attempting to assess and treat their patients’ unique needs.