FLASH NEWS
Women feel pain longer than men and science finally has an explanation
2026-02-22 23:49:55 / MISTERE&KURIOZITETE
Scientists who study chronic pain have long been faced with a unique scenario: a man and a woman are involved in a car accident and suffer the same injuries. But the woman experiences long-term pain, while the man recovers more quickly.
Historically, some doctors have downplayed these differences, claiming that women exaggerate pain or cannot cope with it. However, studies have consistently shown that women are more likely to experience chronic pain and that their pain lasts longer on average.
A study published in the journal Science Immunology offers a possible explanation: men's immune systems may have a more effective mechanism to "turn off" pain, perhaps due to higher testosterone levels.
"What we show is that this is a real biological mechanism by immune cells. It's not a matter of the mind," said Geoffroy Laumet, one of the study's authors and an associate professor of physiology at Michigan State University.
Ann Gregus, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech who studies chronic pain treatment, said the findings highlight the need to take women's pain seriously.
“Many women are taught to hide their pain because otherwise people think they’re not capable of doing their job or taking care of their family,” said Gregus, who was not part of the study.
The findings are linked to ongoing pain after surgery or physical trauma. However, some other chronic pain conditions, such as fibromyalgia, are not linked to a traumatic event.
“Does it explain everything? I don’t think so. We don’t have one magic bullet,” said Dr. Michele Curatolo, a professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at the University of Washington, who was not involved in the study.
In the new study, researchers asked 245 people who had suffered traumatic injuries, mostly car accidents, to rate their pain levels. Men and women reported similar levels of pain on the day of the injury, but over the following three months, men recovered more quickly.
Blood tests showed that the men had higher levels of a molecule called interleukin-10, which blocks pain signals to the brain. According to Laumet, testosterone increases the production of interleukin-10 by white blood cells.
The same thing was found in laboratory experiments with mice. The mice were injected with a substance to induce inflammation, and afterwards the male mice showed signs of improvement in pain, while the female mice did not. The males also recovered faster after a minor surgical incision and after a simulated physical and emotional stress situation.
Gregus said the results may reflect evolutionary differences between men and women, while Curatolo stressed that gender differences are not absolute, as men can also experience long-term pain.
In the future, Laumet said, these findings could lead to the development of new treatments for chronic pain in women, such as the use of testosterone patches. Local treatments tend to have fewer side effects than systemic medications.
Currently, many of the existing options for chronic pain relief have troubling side effects and do not completely eliminate symptoms. Long-term use of common painkillers can cause kidney damage or stomach ulcers, while opioids can be addictive. Some patients do not respond to antidepressants or anti-epileptic drugs used for pain.
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