Neither sex has the edge on pain. And medicine has no definitive pain-o-meter to quantify a person's level of discomfort, explained Green. Consequently, pain is often measured by your perception of it and the way you experience it. Both gender and your cultural experience of pain can influence your coping style.
Research suggests that women are better able to tolerate chronic pain than men; yet they are more sensitive to acute pain, such as touching something hot. Women also appear to be less bothered by lingering discomfort.
And there's some evidence that men's and women's nervous systems act on and process pain information differently.
Men may have been socialized to deny pain and to be stoic if they experience it. But women might be more willing to express their pain and don't view admitting it as a sign of weakness.
According to Green, where a woman is in her menstrual cycle as well as her life cycle (pre- or post-menopause) influences her hormone levels, especially estrogen, and this can make a difference in her response to pain stimuli.
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