Women handle combat pain better than expected

NY Times:

Do women feel more pain than men? For years, researchers have puzzled over that question, and more often than not, have answered the question yes.

So one might expect a study of pain among women in the military to reach a similar conclusion. Not quite, researchers in New Haven found.

In a review of the records of veterans of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs Connecticut Health Care System found that women were less likely than men to report any pain, 38.1 percent to 44 percent.

By a smaller margin, 18 percent to 21.2 percent, the women veterans were also less likely than the men to report having persistent pain.

However, in a finding that did correspond to gender studies of pain among civilians, the researchers found that among veterans with pain, women more often reported significant (as opposed to mild) pain, 68 percent compared to 62.6 for men.

...

Dr. Haskell, who is also works in women’s health care for the veterans affairs system, said more study would be needed to determine why women veterans might report less pain than men. But she said one possibility is that women are barred from serving in combat units where painful-causing injuries are common.

“Though they get some combat exposure, overall they are getting less than men,” she said.

...

It is the nature of combat that some pain should be expected, whether it is from enemy activity or the rigors of combat operations. Those who engage in combat need to accept this fact and deal with it. If women find they can tolerate the pain associated with the job, good for them. I have not had a problem with women in the military some of whom find themselves in a combat situation in counterinsurgency operations. In many cases they have been a terrific asset.