Why do women generally experience pain more intensely then blokes?

[mad_scientist]

What evolutionary purpose did this have to help the human population survive through hard challenges?

[imatfaal]

Citation required. Show that your assertion is true before asking why it might be true

[Raider5678]

I believe it has to do more with the cultural side of things.

In most cultures if a bloke hurts himself, they tell him to tough it out and live with it.

If a woman gets hurt, they're taken care of.

 

This starts at a young age.

But I don't believe it's evolutionary.

Both male and female should have the same pain tolerance at birth, unless I'm wrong.

[mad_scientist]

Citation required. Show that your assertion is true before asking why it might be true

I watched it in a documentary on tv just now. Here is a link to the trailer:

 

Trailer: Ask The Doctor - Series 1 Ep 5 8:00pm Tue 13 Jun ABC : ABC iview

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/ask-the-doctor/MP1723H077C00DS1&ved=0ahUKEwj1276_z7rUAhWKUbwKHeY-AGwQFggdMAA&usg=AFQjCNGti8_TsxURL4FrYu_r8ufqvJQvqA&sig2=86JOsb3hN84PgL24Z3Pitw

 

The full episode should be available for viewing soon through online through iview.

Edited June 13, 2017 by mad_scientist

[imatfaal]

That's not a citation - it is a link to a pop-science medicine programme. not being difficult - but so much of the content of programmes like that is just not true. I am prepared to believe that women experience pain more intensely, or that men do, or both the same- but for a discussion of why this should be the case we must first be sure that it is the case.

[iNow]

I'm choosing not to comment on the thread title or the OP given this posters recent trend and style, just the underlying premise, but perhaps this will help:

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677686/

First, the prevalence of most common forms of pain is higher among women than men, and women report greater pain after invasive procedures than men, though these findings are less consistent. Second, compared with men, women display enhanced sensitivity to most forms of experimentally induced pain (with the exception of is-chemic pain).

(...)

findings indicate that women show more robust temporal summation of pain and experience higher levels of pain after intramuscular injection of algesic substances, such as glutamate and hypertonic saline. Also, only recently has evidence emerged indicating that men may exhibit greater DNIC than women...

[iNow supplement from wiki: Diffuse Noxious Inhibitory Controls (DNIC) refers to an endogenous pain modulatory pathway which has often been described as "pain inhibits pain". It occurs when response from a painful stimulus is inhibited by another, often spatially distant, noxious stimulus.]

...and recent findings suggest that DNIC may be particularly predictive of clinical pain.

Edited June 13, 2017 by iNow

[DrP]

I read a New Scientist article a few years back that pointed towards pain thresholds being different. To sum it up it said that men complain about small amounts of pain more than women do (thus - man flu)... but when it comes to something REALLY painful, like being shot, a man will be more likely to 'man up, to ride through it rather than die. The woman though actually FEEL the pain more.

 

It basically suggested than men were pussies when it came to small amounts of pain and complain more... but can grit through severe pain better (probably because the woman feels it more?). Although obviously a woman going through child birth would probably rip your head off for suggesting this... it seemed to be true from what was written in The New Scientist a few years back. Stab a man with a pin and he'll scream like a girl... whereas a girl will just say 'ow'... Stab them with a knife and the girl will fall and wait for medical treatment but the man might turn nasty and fight you.

 

As with all of these studies I think that the results are based on mass generalisations and I would think there are plenty of men and women that would break this mould or just not fit into it.... but it was the statistical finding of the study.

[imatfaal]

Thanks iNow and DrP. A differentiation between reported intensity and physiological ntensity of an induced pain is a nice difference and needs thought

[mad_scientist]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/women-feel-pain-more-intensely/

Women Feel Pain More Intensely Than Men Do

[imatfaal]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/women-feel-pain-more-intensely/

Women Feel Pain More Intensely Than Men Do

 

perfect.

 

 

Here is an article - the one I think that SciAm thing is about

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3293998/

[CharonY]

One general thing to note, assuming there are physiological differences, one should consider that not everything is due to direct selection. It could be a consequence of an entirely different physiological aspect (say, developmental one) that leads to these outcomes, but are not under direct selection (for example, different activities of pain receptors in dependence on hormonal status).

 

[soapbox] This is why it is why so many evolutionary ]stories in areas such as psychology or marketing end up being "just so" stories without any actual scientific merit [/soapbox]