Women and men experience differences in pain perception
Substantial clinical and experimental evidence demonstrates that women and men experience differences in pain perception, with females generally exhibiting lower pain thresholds, lower pain tolerance, and higher sensitivity across multiple pain modalities.
A robust body of literature, including meta-analyses and systematic reviews (e.g., Fillingim et al., 1998; Bartley & Fillingim, 2013), consistently indicates that women and men differ in pain perception and sensitivity, though the magnitude varies by modality and is influenced by complex biological and psychosocial factors.
Joseph L. Riley, Michael E. Robinson, Emily A. Wise, Cynthia D. Myers, Roger B. Fillingim. Sex differences in the perception of noxious experimental stimuli: a meta-analysis. 1998. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-3959(97)00199-1
A meta-analysis confirms moderate-to-large sex differences in experimental pain sensitivity, with females generally displaying lower thresholds and tolerance.
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Mélanie Racine, Yannick Tousignant‐Laflamme, Lorie A. Kloda, Dominique Dion, Gilles Dupuis, Manon Choinière. A systematic literature review of 10 years of research on sex/gender and experimental pain perception – Part 1: Are there really differences between women and men?. 2011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2011.11.025
A systematic review indicates that females tolerate less thermal and pressure pain than males, supporting the presence of sex-related differences.
Mélanie Racine, Yannick Tousignant‐Laflamme, Lorie A. Kloda, Dominique Dion, Gilles Dupuis, Manon Choinière. A systematic literature review of 10 years of research on sex/gender and pain perception – Part 2: Do biopsychosocial factors alter pain sensitivity differently in women and men?. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2011.11.026
A review of biopsychosocial factors notes that certain pain responses, temporal summation, and secondary hyperalgesia may be more pronounced in women.
Channing J. Paller, Claudia M. Campbell, Robert R. Edwards, Adrian S. Dobs. Sex-Based Differences in Pain Perception and Treatment. 2009. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4637.2008.00558.x
Research highlights that women experience greater clinical pain and show heightened sensitivity to experimentally induced pain compared with men.
Stefano Pieretti, A. Di Giannuario, Rita Di Giovannandrea, Francesca Marzoli, Giovanni Piccaro, Paola Minosi, Anna Maria Aloisi. Gender differences in pain and its relief.. 2017. https://doi.org/10.4415/ann_16_02_09
Literature strongly suggests that men and women differ in responses to pain, with increased pain sensitivity commonly reported among women.
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