GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PAIN PERCEPTION

Chronic pain is experienced differently by men and women and the difference may really be in their brains.  New research is pointing to sex differences in pain, not just age, personality and overall health.  A 2003 study (Circulation) found women more likely to experience aches and tightness rather than pain during a heart attack, and don't necessarily seek immediate treatment.  Male and female brains react differently to pain, with the female brain showing greater activity in the emotion based centers or limbic system and male brains showing more reactivity in the associative cortical areas. Growing research is demonstrating that men's and women's nervous systems process pain information differently and act on it differently. (AMA Journal, 2003).  Margaret McCarthy, Univ. of Maryland School of Medicine thinks estrogen may be tied to more severe and frequent pain for women. Health provider's are increasingly aware that one person's pain releiver may not do the job for another. It is not clear if women's emotion affects their perception of pain more than men's do. A recent study in England (Bath) suggests women seeking pain relief may benefit from learning coping strategies to a greater extent than men. At the end of the day, as pain gets more extreme, many of the sex differences disappear.