Zeidan also pointed out that women may require higher doses of opioids for pain relief, which could contribute to higher addiction rates among females.

Experts advocate for a holistic approach to pain management, rather than relying solely on sex-based treatment decisions.

Patients are encouraged to communicate openly with their doctors if they are not finding relief from pain medications.

A recent study from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine challenges the notion that mindfulness meditation's benefits for pain relief are merely a placebo response.

Involving 98 participants, the study tested the effects of meditation training while administering either placebo or naloxone, a drug that blocks opioid effects, alongside a painful heat stimulus.

Advanced brain imaging techniques were employed to compare the effects of mindfulness meditation and placebo on pain perception.

The study concluded that mindfulness meditation should be recognized as a direct intervention for chronic pain, rather than just a trigger for the placebo effect.

Findings revealed that mindfulness meditation alters brain areas associated with self-awareness and emotional regulation, effectively scrambling pain signals.

Participants suffering from chronic pain experienced significantly greater relief from meditation compared to healthy participants, underscoring its effectiveness.

Interestingly, blocking the opioid system with naloxone reduced meditation-based pain relief in men, confirming their reliance on endogenous opioids, while it enhanced relief in women, indicating different mechanisms at play.

These findings highlight the necessity for developing sex-specific pain therapies, as men and women utilize different biological systems for pain relief.

Dr. Fadel Zeidan emphasized the potential of mindfulness meditation to modify pain experiences without the use of drugs, making it an accessible option for many.