Pain tolerance is the maximum level of pain that a person is able to tolerate. Pain tolerance is distinct from pain threshold (the point at which pain begins to be felt).

Factors affecting pain tolerance

Clinical studies by the journal of Psychosomatic Medicine found that "men had higher pain thresholds and tolerances and lower pain ratings than women" when exposed to cold pressor pain. The study asked participants to submerge their hands in ice water

Ice water

- Music :* Ice Water , a song from Cat Power's second album Myra Lee* Ice Water , an album by guitarist Leo Kottke* Ice Water Inc., a music group affiliated with the Wu Tang Clan- Other uses :* Ice Water , Thoroughbred racehorse...

 (the cold pressor pain procedure

Cold pressor test

The cold pressor test is a cardiovascular test performed by immersing the hand into an ice water container, usually for one minute, and measuring changes in blood pressure and heart rate. Its response is clinically indicative concerning vascular response and pulse excitability.Other measures can...

) and were compensated financially for keeping their hand submerged. Suggested explanations for this difference include that "men are more motivated to tolerate and suppress expressions of pain because of the masculine sex role, whereas the feminine sex role encourages pain expression and produces lower motivation to tolerate pain among women."

A similar study by the same journal focused on the effects of having individuals perform the ice water procedure while accompanied by another participant. Their results revealed that "Participants in the active support and passive support conditions reported less pain than participants in the alone and interaction conditions, regardless of whether they were paired with a friend or stranger. These data suggest that the presence of an individual who provides passive or active support reduces experimental pain."

Effect of exposure to pain

It is widely believed that regular exposure to painful stimuli will increase pain tolerance – i.e. increase the ability of the individual to handle pain by becoming more conditioned

Classical conditioning

Classical conditioning is a form of conditioning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov...

 to it. However, this is not true – the greater exposure to pain will result in more painful future exposures. Repeated exposure bombards pain synapses with repetitive input, increasing their responsiveness to later stimuli, through a process similar to learning. Therefore, although the individual may learn cognitive methods of coping with pain, these methods may not be sufficient to cope with the boosted response to future painful stimuli. "An intense barrage of painful stimuli potentiates the cells responsive to pain so that they respond more vigorously to minor stimulation in the future."

Because of this, trauma victims (or patients in pain) are given painkillers (such as morphine

Morphine

Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...

) as soon as possible – to prevent pain sensitization

Sensitization

Sensitization is an example of non-associative learning in which the progressive amplification of a response follows repeated administrations of a stimulus. An everyday example of this mechanism is the repeated tonic stimulation of peripheral nerves that will occur if a person rubs his arm...

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Kalat suggests that morphine should be taken before surgery; "People who begin taking morphine before surgery need less of it afterward."