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Why is there a difference in pain tolerance between the old and young?
by Jason Antonio
the Carillon
An answer as to why there is a difference in pain tolerance levels between old and young people may be found in the brain, suggests Dr. Stephen Gibson, a professor from the University of Melbourne, who spoke recently to a small crowd at the Language Institute.
Having done research for the National Ageing Research Institute, Gibson says that “there are three possible reasons for why pain occurs differently in older people, and [those answers] can be found in the brain.”
The reasons that he states for dealing with pain are “Neurophysiology, which deals with the main pathways in the brain; Psychological factors, and more indirect, secondary age associated influences,” such as diseases or physical ailments.
In elderly people, as they get progressively older, there is a “drop in the number of neurotransmitters in the brain. These neurotransmitters are the group that tells us what hurts, and how much it is hurting, such as extreme heat or coolness. For older persons, an abundance of neurons in the spinal cord makes them more responsive and receptive of the pain that they feel.” But when they lose vast amounts of neurons, there is an increase in their pain threshold, and “extra stimulation is needed just to get older people to respond to the pain.”
However, Gibson says that there has been an “increased level of older people who are having a stoic attitude of not reporting their pain to others.” They may be in constant pain all the time but feel the need to cope and keep going, never telling anyone how bad their pain is.
Unfortunately, “there can be increased levels of depression and anxiety if you decide to conceal the fact that you have or are in pain.”
Gibson also points out, that “by the year 2050, there are going to be two billion adults in the world, and a six-fold rise in people 80 years and older. The proportion over sixty years is going to be 33.9 per cent.”
As this increase occurs, Gibson stresses that “the aging population will demand our immediate attention.” Research, professional educators and special service deliveries are just a few of the things that the older crowd will need in order to accommodate them.
Where it stands, the world “is behind in trying to learn more about the amount of pain in old people. We have education about this topic but at the moment, it is less than adequate or even lacking in some areas. There are many changes to a person’s pain sensitivity over a lifetime, and as society grows older, the reports on how much pain a person is in begin to decline. In fact, it already is declining.”
This is probably due to society and its attitude of frowning upon and scorning those who complain about being in pain. It’s a “suck it up attitude” and keep going. This unfortunately leads to an “increased level of diseases and more use of medication to help treat the ailment.”
For pain to be understood better, Gibson says that there needs to be an increase in the reporting of pain and its effects, so that researchers can get a better understanding of pain and age and be able to deal with it with more knowledge.
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