The age-old question of who suffers more pain, men or women, has just been answered.
A study published in a journal named Nature Neuroscience has found that biologically, women experience pain more intensely than men (take that manflu).
The research revealed that males and females process pain differently and has even paved the way for specifically designed ‘his and hers’ painkillers in the future.
Jeffrey Mogill, professor of pain studies at McGill University told the Mail Online: “The assumption has always been that the wiring of how pain is processed is the same in both sexes.
“The realisation that the biological basis for pain between men and women could be so fundamentally different raises important research and ethical questions if we want to reduce suffering.”
The researchers found that for men, pain is transmitted from the site of injury through the nervous system using an immune system cell called microglia.
However, by interfering with the function of microglia they found that pain could be effectively blocked in men, but the same interferences had no effect in females.
Co-author of the study, Michael Salter, added: “Understanding the pathways of pain and sex differences is absolutely essential as we design the next generation of more sophisticated, targeted pain medications.”
We must admit… we are feeling quietly smug right now.
