Pain tolerance and sensitivity in men and women

There are two steps to feeling pain. The first is the biological step, for example skin itching or headache. These feelings signal to the brain that the body is in trouble. The second step is the brain's perception of the pain - do we ignore these sensations and resume our activities, or do we stop everything and focus on the pain symptom.
Doris Cope, head of the Pain Medicine Program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, says: Pain is the neurological and biochemical transmission of an unpleasant sensation and an emotional experience. Chronic pain actually changes the way the spinal cord, nerves, and brain process unpleasant stimuli that cause hypersensitivity, but the brain and emotions can reduce or intensify pain. Past experiences and trauma affect a person's sensitivity to pain.
Treatment of pain and people's perception of the patient's symptoms is a major challenge in many countries. Chronic pain is reported by:
30% of adults 45 to 64 years of age 25% of adults 20 to 44 years of age 21% of adults 65 years of age and older Women have more pain than men (27.1) % vs 24.4%), although whether pain tolerance in women is actually better than pain tolerance in men is still a scientific debate.

Pain causes significant mental, physical and economic harm. Unwanted pain can lead to healthcare costs and reduced income and lost productivity an estimated $100 billion a year.
Pain may be on the rise around the world as age and excess weight contribute to pain and discomfort. The population is living longer into old age, and two-thirds of the population is overweight or obese.
The most common type of chronic pain is back pain while the most common acute pain is musculoskeletal pain caused by sports injuries.

Pain tolerance is affected by a person's emotions, body and lifestyle. Here are some factors that can affect pain tolerance:
Depression and anxiety can make a person more sensitive to pain. Athletes can tolerate more pain than people who don't exercise. People who smoke or are obese report more pain. Biological factors — including genetics, trauma like a spinal cord injury, and chronic diseases like diabetes that damage nerves — also shape how we interpret pain.

Some surprising biological factors may also play a role in pain tolerance. For example, recent research shows that one side of your body may experience pain differently than the other.
A study published in the December 2009 issue of Neuroscience Letters found that right-handed study participants were able to tolerate more pain in their right hand than in their left. This study also shows that women are more sensitive to pain than men; but women and men are equal in tolerance of pain intensity.
The dominant hand - your right hand, if you are right-handed - can explain pain more quickly and accurately than the non-dominant hand, which may explain why the dominant side can tolerate it longer. The researchers note that hand dominance may also be related to the part of your brain that explains pain.

Another surprising factor is that hair color can reflect pain tolerance. In 2009, researchers reported in the Journal of the American Dental Association that redheads are more sensitive to pain and may need more anesthesia for dental procedures.
Especially why have red hair? Redheads tend to have mutations in a gene called the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R), which is what gives their hair its red color, researchers say. MC1R belongs to a group of receptors that includes pain receptors in the brain. The researchers suggest that a mutation in this particular gene appears to affect pain sensitivity.
We have different pain receptors in our body and those receptors respond differently, whether you're taking aspirin or acetaminophen.

A person's biology can affect whether they develop resistance to pain medication, meaning a treatment that used to work no longer relieves pain. This can be a "vicious cycle" that needs to be broken. "You use more treatments and become more tolerant and you become less active and in more pain."
We can't change our genetic receptors, and not even changing the color of your hair or what hand you write can make you sensitive to pain. However, there are coping mechanisms that can affect the brain's perception of pain.
Researchers have focused on trying to change the psychological interpretation of pain by restoring the mind. You can change the perception [of pain] on the brain. You have not changed the perception of the nerves.
Alternative remedies, such as relaxation techniques like biofeedback, teach people how to divert their mind from focusing on pain.
People can empower themselves by learning relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises during natural childbirth. When it comes to pain, the material mind can work. Meditation, pain reduction, and a positive attitude are all things people can do on their own to reduce pain.

Reference source: webmd.com