This isn't, actually, news. It's been known for donkey's that men have higher pain thresholds and tolerances. It's one of the effects of testosterone poisoning.
Men in very intense situations, when the adrenaline's flowing, have similarly raised pain thresholds. There are records of people losing arms in battle and fighting on, I believe, and more recently reports of people losing arms in agricultural machinery then calmly picking up the severed member, carrying it to the nearest phone and calling an ambulance.
What is infuriating is the conclusions drawn from this ('women feel more pain than men').
A study based on 50 men and women is pretty close to the bounds of statistical (in)significance, yet some kind of universal truth is sought from the findings.
The way in which the media (and sometimes scientists themselves) misrepresent scientific research is really damaging, both to science, and to everybody else's understanding of the world.
Pain is one of the least understood aspects of neuroscience (or was, when I studied is a few years back), so being able to generalise like the article does represents either a major breakthrough or just wishful thinking (or, well, bollix).
One week at uni our homework was to find example of the bad use of science, whether in reporting ro advertising. I think you'd have really enjoyed that session :)
Am interested by your posts on immune system responses. I did some work on dyslexia in a group whose research focus was the possibility that faulty immune reponses during pregnancy could lead to dyslexia. All related to speed of neuronal transmission in under-myelinated neurons, went the theory.
Hmm. will have to read the dyslexia stuff when my brain is less overheated. I went to uni at Sheffield where all teh dyslexia research was based on cerebellar deficiencies, which means we spent alot of time getting people to stand on one leg and count backwards and recording how fast they fell over.
The make-up I stole from magic_in_makeup community, but back when i had rather more time on my hands it is the sort of thing I could/would do.
I smashed the radius bone into the elbow joint on my right arm at 2:30pm... went to the wrestling matches that night and got home after 11pm, at which point my mom noticed the swelling and took me to the hospital. The pain really didn't bother me all that much...
Not impressed with that article which is probably as much the BBC sensationalising things as anything else.
I used to have a stupidly high pain threshhold as a child, to the point where I'd have major surgery and need zero pain relief afterwards. The doctors and nurses could not believe I didn't need it, so generally dumped me on lose dose paracetamol just in case.
I have noticed as I have got older and the frequency at which the doctors were cutting me up dropped dramatically, so did my pain threshhold. I don't know if that's an age thing, are children more resilient? Or whether it's other factors like 'awareness' and 'expectation' of pain.
I think that article has been over simplified (by the BBC) and I would be more interested to see the original paper and of course the research methodologies behind it. Someone's already slated the sample size, and I would want to know detailed wossnames of the participants' medical and pain related history. They would be better using some kind of neurological response or heartrate increase/sweaty palms indicator of pain.
I don't know much about pain, but making people feel stupid or bad because they are more sensitive is not good pain management. I spent 2 weeks in a rehab unit for my shoulders 2 years ago. 80% of the people were there with chronic and long term pain. Many of these people were helped by a variety of methods hich did not include belittling people or making them feel 'to blame'. I would estimate 90% of these people had improvements to their overall pain level and continued to improve even after their treatment.
What we need is more pain research and larger and more accessible pain management services. Not crappy BBC making misleading headlines for their own gain.
I just stumbled across your journal again and remembered I never replied to your email, which you sent me ages ago... I am truly rubbish. I do apologise. Hello, anyway :)
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-04 02:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-04 02:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-04 02:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-04 02:30 pm (UTC)A study based on 50 men and women is pretty close to the bounds of statistical (in)significance, yet some kind of universal truth is sought from the findings.
The way in which the media (and sometimes scientists themselves) misrepresent scientific research is really damaging, both to science, and to everybody else's understanding of the world.
Pain is one of the least understood aspects of neuroscience (or was, when I studied is a few years back), so being able to generalise like the article does represents either a major breakthrough or just wishful thinking (or, well, bollix).
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-04 04:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 12:43 pm (UTC)http://www.livejournal.com/users/nullstr/22965.html
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 01:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-14 12:12 am (UTC)http://www.cogneuro.ox.ac.uk/dyslexia/
http://www.physiol.ox.ac.uk/Research_Groups/Stein/
Might interest you...
btw, is this your work?:
http://www.livejournal.com/userpic/21359833/1126450
Rather fine!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-14 07:24 am (UTC)The make-up I stole from magic_in_makeup community, but back when i had rather more time on my hands it is the sort of thing I could/would do.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-04 03:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-04 07:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-04 04:04 pm (UTC)*Imagines*
Woman: "Yes, it hurts. You bastards. How much am I being paid for this again?"
Man: "It's nuffin, mate, NUFFIN! I'm aaaaaard, me."
And they think their results are accurate?
(
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-04 06:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-04 06:36 pm (UTC)I used to have a stupidly high pain threshhold as a child, to the point where I'd have major surgery and need zero pain relief afterwards. The doctors and nurses could not believe I didn't need it, so generally dumped me on lose dose paracetamol just in case.
I have noticed as I have got older and the frequency at which the doctors were cutting me up dropped dramatically, so did my pain threshhold. I don't know if that's an age thing, are children more resilient? Or whether it's other factors like 'awareness' and 'expectation' of pain.
I think that article has been over simplified (by the BBC) and I would be more interested to see the original paper and of course the research methodologies behind it. Someone's already slated the sample size, and I would want to know detailed wossnames of the participants' medical and pain related history. They would be better using some kind of neurological response or heartrate increase/sweaty palms indicator of pain.
I don't know much about pain, but making people feel stupid or bad because they are more sensitive is not good pain management. I spent 2 weeks in a rehab unit for my shoulders 2 years ago. 80% of the people were there with chronic and long term pain. Many of these people were helped by a variety of methods hich did not include belittling people or making them feel 'to blame'. I would estimate 90% of these people had improvements to their overall pain level and continued to improve even after their treatment.
What we need is more pain research and larger and more accessible pain management services. Not crappy BBC making misleading headlines for their own gain.
Natalya
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-04 08:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-04 08:56 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-04 09:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-14 12:15 am (UTC)