There is a common prejudice that women complain more when they are in pain, compared to men.
Medical polls have shown that, in fact, they do complain more, but at the same time they attend the doctor’s office more frequently.
Studies have shown it is not just a psychological issue. Not only do men and women feel pain differently, but their brains also respond differently to painkillers. For example, morphine works better on men than on women.
A study realized at the University of Atlanta on patients suffering of chronic pain has discovered that men react to it by activating a circuit that connects the middle region of the brain (also known as periaqueductal grey substance) to the rostroventromedial medulla.
In the case of women this type of connection is less active, despite the fact that the ties between the grey substance and the medulla are much more numerous.
Generally speaking, there are more women in pain than men. There are even illnesses that, because of the large number of women affected, have become mostly feminine, such as migraines and fibromyalgia.
Still, studies cannot give strict causes for this phenomenon; elements that influence the perception of pain, apart from sex, can also be the genetic structure of the individual and even psychological factors.
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