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Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Spontaneous and Evoked Measures of Pain in Murine Models of Monoarticular Knee Pain

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Published on: February 22, 2019

Sex differences in prior pain experience.

Lauren A Stutts¹, Robert C McCulloch, Karen Chung

¹Center for Pain Research and Behavioral Health, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, PO Box 100165, Gainesville, FL 32610-0165, USA. lstutts@phhp.ufl.edu

The Journal of Pain

|June 30, 2009

Summary

Men and women report similar overall pain experiences, but differ in specific pain events and ratings. Imagined pain is often rated as more severe than experienced pain, suggesting a tendency to catastrophize pain.

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Area of Science:

Pain research
Sex differences in health
Psychology of pain

Background:

Sex differences in clinical and experimental pain are established.
Limited research exists on sex differences in common painful event experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate sex differences in the nature and intensity of common pain experiences.
To compare recalled and imagined pain ratings between men and women.

Main Methods:

102 women and 85 men completed the Prior Pain Experience Questionnaire.
The questionnaire assessed recalled and imagined pain ratings for common painful events.
Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to assess sex differences.

Main Results:

No significant differences were found in the overall number of reported pain experiences or mean pain ratings between sexes.
Significant sex differences emerged in specific pain events (e.g., men reported more concussions).
Women rated minor surgery as more painful than men; imagined pain was rated as equally or more painful than experienced pain.

Conclusions:

Men and women exhibit variations in specific pain experiences, but overall pain experience does not significantly differ between sexes.
Imagined pain ratings often exceed experienced pain ratings, supporting the concept of pain catastrophizing.