Pain Differences Between Men & Women

Pain Differences Between Men & Women

We all experience pain to different degrees, but a new study of adult patients at the Pain Management Center of Loyola University suggests that there is a distinct difference between how men and women experience pain, with women being more likely to seek treatment for chronic pain. The study, led by Meda Raghavendra, MD and Joseph Holtman, MD, PhD, of Loyola University Medical Center and Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, evaluated nearly 3,400 patients, 60 percent of them women. They found a notably greater incidence of neck pain from cervical degenerative disc disease among the female patients. Also notable, says the researchers, is that women seem to be more likely to report pain than men. Though further research is needed, the findings add further support to the idea that hormonal differences are one of the main reasons for women’s increased likelihood of pain.