Pain tolerance
Pain Tolerance
Pain tolerance (/peɪn ˈtɒlərəns/) is the maximum level of pain that a person is able to tolerate. It is a complex and subjective phenomenon that varies greatly among individuals.
Etymology
The term "pain tolerance" is derived from the Latin words "poena" meaning "punishment" or "penalty" and "tolerare" meaning "to bear" or "endure".
Definition
Pain tolerance is often defined as the point at which a person perceives pain as unbearable. It is typically measured in a clinical setting using a variety of methods, including the cold pressor test, the heat pain threshold test, and the pressure pain threshold test.
Factors Influencing Pain Tolerance
Several factors can influence an individual's pain tolerance, including their genetic makeup, age, gender, and psychological state. For example, research has shown that individuals with certain genetic variants may have a higher pain tolerance than others. Similarly, older adults and women have been found to have lower pain tolerance than younger adults and men, respectively. Psychological factors, such as anxiety and depression, can also affect pain tolerance.
Related Terms
- Pain threshold: The minimum point at which a person begins to feel pain.
- Pain perception: The process by which pain is recognized and interpreted by the brain.
- Pain management: The medical specialty focused on reducing pain and improving quality of life through an integrative approach to care.
- Chronic pain: Pain that lasts longer than six months and can be either constant or intermittent.
- Acute pain: Pain that comes on quickly and can be severe, but lasts a relatively short time.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Pain tolerance
- Wikipedia's article - Pain tolerance
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski