Patel says the data reflects what she sees in her clinic and underscores the need to dose men and women differently to avoid unnecessary side effects.

The consequences of untreated pain

Women who can’t get the pain relief they need may suffer lifelong consequences. For one, their injury or condition is more likely to worsen, extending their recovery time and boosting the odds they develop complications from procedures, Patel says. Meanwhile, daily tasks like work, laundry, or tending to children become extremely difficult to impossible to accomplish.

It doesn’t help that women “have more responsibilities that are non-negotiable,” Baxter says. For instance, a 2019 Gallup poll found that women in heterosexual relationships were more likely to cook, clean, do laundry, wash dishes, grocery shop, and care for children on a daily basis. “If you’re a male in pain, it’s a lot easier in society to [relax]. But the female existence means there’s no way to opt out…and that could contribute to our pain perception.”

“And so for women, being disabled is a bigger issue,” Baxter adds.

Over time, acute pain can morph into the chronic kind, Patel says. For some people, this might look like anxiety or depression; for others, it could be substance abuse in a last-ditch effort to self-medicate.