Yeah I don't know if we can really draw many conclusions from such a study. Pain is a subjective thing. And we are talking about how people report their pain level. Now if they said that more women are diagnosed with pain related conditions and disorders...that may be true.
The study is interesting to read but I am not sure if there are any practical implications we can use from it.
On a tangential note...I would be interested to know how a man would deal with the pain of labor. :>) We will never know.
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Pain is such a personal and subjective problem, that it is hard to make comparisons like this. What were they hoping to prove with this information??
To be honest, I think they were more interested in showing that electronic medical records (which hospitals and doctors are being pressured to use) can be useful for research purposes than they were in drawing any helpful conclusions regarding pain.
You're right – pain is very subjective. I think a lot of things influence both how different people feel it and how they report it.
Overall, I think that women are more sensitive to pain than men. Maybe it is because when men don't feel well, everything stops and they sit down or lay down until the pain goes away while women continue taking care of their families, homes and work. I know this does not apply to all men, but from the men I know, it seems to apply. Also, my husband wouldn't admit to being in intense pain unless he was
being burned alive, and even then he might say, "Well, it's hot, but not too bad!" I think for men in pain there is also a lot of denial, like it is unmanly to admit they are experiencing something they can't control and that it is weak to ask for help. Also,
I think they may not be as willing to spend the money necessary to seek help until it becomes an emergency or absolutely necessary.