Martini Pundit » pain tolerance http://www.martinipundit.com Opinions Shaken not Stirred Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:52:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Is Pain Tolerance a Matter of Sex? http://www.martinipundit.com/health-and-fitness/womens-health/is-pain-tolerance-a-matter-of-sex http://www.martinipundit.com/health-and-fitness/womens-health/is-pain-tolerance-a-matter-of-sex#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:11:55 +0000 admin http://www.martinipundit.com/?p=39 Many researchers seem to have a quest to define the many ways in which men and women differ. Previous research into pain tolerance differences, for instance, seems to suggest that women are more sensitive to pain than men are. I would have to disagree. As a chiropractor, I’ve noticed that even though men don’t “talk” much about their pain, they seem to be far more sensitive to pain prior to chiropractic treatment. But, I do agree with a new study that suggests that women actually get over their discomfort more quickly, and I’ll add that this is often true after a chiropractic adjustment.

Researchers found that when they exposed 32 adults to a moderately painful stimulus (a heat-producing probe placed on the skin), that women were, in fact, initially more sensitive to the pain than men. But after the first 20 seconds, women reported a decline in both the intensity of the pain and their “annoyance” with it. Men, in contrast, showed no similar adaptation.

The sex disparity was also seen when the study participants were exposed to the heat a second and third time. The women felt less pain and annoyance than their male counterparts throughout.
Perhaps the next test between the sexes should be which sex realizes first that exposure to heat hurts and that, therefore, they should avoid a second and third exposure!

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