Intro

What Chronic Pain Is and Why It Matters

The Gender Gap in Pain Research

Jennifer's Journey: Living With Chronic Pain

Endometriosis, Period Pain & Being Dismissed

The History of Bias in Pain Treatment

What Science Is Learning About Women's Pain

Disability, Self-Advocacy & Cost of Waiting

Managing Pain: Treatment, Care & Hope

Future of Pain Research & Advocacy

Unlike a broken arm, you can't see chronic pain. This makes it complicated to treat or diagnose because it's subjective. This has led chronic pain to be called a "silent epidemic" and while 70% of chronic pain sufferers are women, historically the majority of pain studies have been done on men or male mice. Many people with conditions like endometriosis, PMOS, migraines, fibroids and painful periods, live with chronic pain. And the World Health Organization officially classified it as a disease in 2022.

On the final episode of season 1, Nam Kiwanuka take a deeper dive on the history of pain research, what it is, the implicit bias towards women in medicine, and the research that's being done to combat that right here in Canada.

Nam speaks with Dr. Tania Di Renna, the president of the Canadian Pain Society (CPS) and Medical Director of the Toronto Academic Pain Medicine Institute (TAPMI) and Jennifer Daly-Cyr who has lived with chronic pain for more than a decade and is also co-chair of the Person with Lived Experience committee at the CPS.

Research links

Being A Woman Doesn’t Have To Be A (Chronic) Pain https://www.forbes.com/sites/evaepker/2023/04/05/why-is-being-a-woman-a-chronic-pain/

Women and pain: Disparities in experience and treatment: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/women-and-pain-disparities-in-experience-and-treatment-2017100912562

Mi'kmaw nurse explains how Indigenous pain often misunderstood: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mi-kmaw-nurse-1.5130067

Myths about physical racial differences were used to justify slavery — and are still believed by doctors today: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/racial-differences-doctors.html

Racial bias in pain assessment and treatment recommendations, and false beliefs about biological differences between blacks and whites: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1516047113

Sex differences in the transition to chronic pain: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12126234/

“Brave Men” and “Emotional Women”: A Theory-Guided Literature Review on Gender Bias in Health Care and Gendered Norms towards Patients with Chronic Pain: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/2018/6358624

Yale psychologists find that adults take girls’ pain less seriously: https://news.yale.edu/2019/01/24/yale-psychologists-find-adults-take-girls-pain-less-seriously

Pain medication finally recommended in U.S. for IUD use. What about Canada?: https://globalnews.ca/news/10687785/iud-insertion-pain-management-guidance/

The science that changed how we study pain: https://www.mcgill.ca/science/channels/news/science-changed-how-we-study-pain-372651

Action On Pain podcast takes a closer look at the implementation of An Action Plan for Pain in Canada: https://redcircle.com/shows/action-on-pain

Unlike a broken arm, you can't see chronic pain. This makes it complicated to treat or diagnose because it's subjective. This has led chronic pain to be called a "silent epidemic" and while 70% of chronic pain sufferers are women, historically the majority of pain studies have been done on men or male mice. Many people with conditions like endometriosis, PMOS, migraines, fibroids and painful periods, live with chronic pain. And the World Health Organization officially classified it as a disease in 2022.
On the final episode of season 1, Nam Kiwanuka take a deeper dive on the history of pain research, what it is, the implicit bias towards women in medicine, and the research that's being done to combat that right here in Canada.
Nam speaks with Dr. Tania Di Renna, the president of the Canadian Pain Society (CPS) and Medical Director of the Toronto Academic Pain Medicine Institute (TAPMI) and Jennifer Daly-Cyr who has lived with chronic pain for more than a decade and is also co-chair of the Person with Lived Experience committee at the CPS.
Research links
Being A Woman Doesn&rsquo;t Have To Be A (Chronic) Pain <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/evaepker/2023/04/05/why-is-being-a-woman-a-chronic-pain/">https://www.forbes.com/sites/evaepker/2023/04/05/why-is-being-a-woman-a-chronic-pain/</a>
Women and pain: Disparities in experience and treatment: <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/women-and-pain-disparities-in-experience-and-treatment-2017100912562">https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/women-and-pain-disparities-in-experience-and-treatment-2017100912562</a>
Mi'kmaw nurse explains how Indigenous pain often misunderstood: <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mi-kmaw-nurse-1.5130067">https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mi-kmaw-nurse-1.5130067</a>
Myths about physical racial differences were used to justify slavery &mdash; and are still believed by doctors today: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/racial-differences-doctors.html">https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/racial-differences-doctors.html</a>
Racial bias in pain assessment and treatment recommendations, and false beliefs about biological differences between blacks and whites: <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1516047113">https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1516047113</a>
Sex differences in the transition to chronic pain: <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12126234/">https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12126234/</a>
&ldquo;Brave Men&rdquo; and &ldquo;Emotional Women&rdquo;: A Theory-Guided Literature Review on Gender Bias in Health Care and Gendered Norms towards Patients with Chronic Pain: <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/2018/6358624">https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/2018/6358624</a>
Yale psychologists find that adults take girls&rsquo; pain less seriously: <a href="https://news.yale.edu/2019/01/24/yale-psychologists-find-adults-take-girls-pain-less-seriously">https://news.yale.edu/2019/01/24/yale-psychologists-find-adults-take-girls-pain-less-seriously</a>
Pain medication finally recommended in U.S. for IUD use. What about Canada?: <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10687785/iud-insertion-pain-management-guidance/">https://globalnews.ca/news/10687785/iud-insertion-pain-management-guidance/</a>
The science that changed how we study pain: <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/science/channels/news/science-changed-how-we-study-pain-372651">https://www.mcgill.ca/science/channels/news/science-changed-how-we-study-pain-372651</a>
Action On Pain podcast takes a closer look at the implementation of An Action Plan for Pain in Canada: <a href="https://redcircle.com/shows/action-on-pain">https://redcircle.com/shows/action-on-pain</a>

(MIS)Treated, a TVO podcast, explores how medicine has – and still is – failing women and speaks to the people looking to make a difference. Join host Nam Kiwanuka to hear real life stories and expert interviews on how the mistreatment and misdiagnosis of women affects us all.

(MIS)Treated, a TVO podcast, explores how medicine has &ndash; and still is &ndash; failing women and speaks to the people looking to make a difference. Join host Nam Kiwanuka to hear real life stories and expert interviews on how the mistreatment and misdiagnosis of women affects us all.